


Alternates; Rough Cut

by naturalCatastrophes



Series: Space/Time and Everything that happens Inbetween [1]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Timelines, Alternate Universe, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Multi, No Smut, Other, Panic Attacks, Reader Insert, Reader Is Not Frisk, Self Insert, cope, reader does frisk's job, the major character dying is u btw
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-20
Updated: 2016-09-11
Packaged: 2018-05-02 17:10:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 27
Words: 124,723
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5256794
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/naturalCatastrophes/pseuds/naturalCatastrophes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <b>This is the original (and unfinished) version of a story that is currently being rewritten. Stay tuned for more details.</b>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>What if, even though the resets take frisk back to right after they enter the underground, each timeline starts to diverge earlier than that? What if they diverge early enough that the person who would grow up to be Frisk, grows up into someone else entirely?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> \--

Everybody says that you shouldn’t wear headphones while you walk places. And you especially shouldn’t listen to music loud enough that you have trouble hearing cars go by. 'They.' say a lot of things. Most of those things you don’t take to heart.  
But it is the dead of winter, you’re about 90% sure that it’s colder than the devil’s heart in this LRT station, and honestly, you could just use some good tunes to get you home in one piece. It had been a long day. You hadn’t been able to do any work that felt “right”. Stupid art school, stupid art block, stupid winter weather.

If you had listened to the ambiguous “they”, you would have heard someone call out.

“Frisk?”

If you had compromised with the ambiguous “they”, you may have heard someone call a little louder.

“Frisk!”

Hell you probably could have saved yourself one huge scare when - “Frisk, is that you?” - a hand firmly grabbed your shoulder.

You didn’t scream, thank god that you didn’t scream. However, you did jump high enough to forcefully knock the hand off your shoulder. You grab the earbuds from your ears and turn to the person who called to you.

He _(he?)_ was maybe a head shorter than you with the extra height your winter boots gave you, with a puffy, blue, incredibly warm _(how would I know that??)_ hooded jacket that blocked your view of his face. “Pardon? Are you looking for me?”

“Ah, sorry. I thought you were someone else.” He backs up and quickly disappears into the fast-growing crowd of people waiting for the next train.

You wonder why he seems so familiar as you turn back to wait for the LRT to come. It was probably the voice, you overhear a lot of voices. By the time your headphones are put back into your ears, the stranger has left your mind.


	2. A lot of Thinking

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> over 2 thousand words, thats way better than the 306 that made up the prologue right??

It’s been a week since you encountered that stranger. Not that you actively recognize this, you haven't given him a lot of thought since then. You are not even giving it a lot of thought now, but you want to draw and he is strangely inspiring. Strangely inspiring stranger. You … want to draw a lot more than you want to get into word games in your head.

Step One: Find your sketchbook.

Step Two: Netflix.

Step Three: Sketch what may or may not be what the fellow in the blue jacket looks like.

_Is that creepy? No, I’m just … uh … interested ! in my fellow humans ! That is 100% not creepy, totally normal thing….  
_

_Ok it may be a little creepy._

It doesn’t stop you, though. A little more than halfway into an episode of “How to Get Away with Murder” and you’ve got three or so sketches that you like. The fourth is a little iffy, kind of looks more like the head of some monster than the head of a human. Which is fine, sketches are just for fun, or practice, depending on who you ask.

Right now, though, you’re not asking, you’re just sketching a stranger you saw for five whole seconds a week earlier. Having a good time. Watching a show about murder. It's the usual Wednesday night in.

You add a few more lines to the one you like the most out of the four. It looks pretty good, maybe enough so that you can add it to the face diversity sheet you keep in your “examples” binder. They are all just simple lined sketches, small enough to fit twenty or so of them on one page, but detailed enough to say “Hey! I can draw faces! I’m good at art! Give me your money!” You look over at the page again and see that, even if they aren't as good, sketches #1 and #3 are looking a little plain in comparison. It's a simple fix, you just have to add a few well-placed lines and now they all look rather good. Sketch #4 is going to stay just like that and will not be mentioned further - it looked a little icky from the start anyways.

Maybe the cats would like this. You had raised them to be art aficionados, and if you were ever stuck between two different thumbnails of a drawing, you usually let one of them pick which one you’d do. They don’t really care or understand what you are doing when you shove a sketchbook or paper in their faces, but they seem to like the treats you give them afterwards. It's a strange habit, you know, but that's alright.

“Lokiii! Loki! Come here buddy!” You get up to wander the main floor of the house and hear the pitter patter of cute little paws heeding your call. He actually likes affection and therefore usually comes when you call him. Azi on the other hand always wants things on her own terms, so usually, she didn’t get to be the one to make the final decision. But Az had been yours since she was baby and as much as you hated to rank things you love, she held a bigger place in your heart.

The strange idea hits your head that maybe Loki will pick the one that looks the most like whatthe stranger actually looks like.

_Loki, is it weird that I want to see him again, even it’s just to find out what his face looks like? I mean, it probably isn’t normal but it wouldn’t be weird right?_

The orange tabby comes running _(This! Is! The! Best! Thing! Ever!)_ and you drop to your knees ready to love him up with plenty of pets and kisses. First, though, you have business to attend to. You walk back over to the couch where you had been sitting and grab your sketchbook before kneeling in front of the cat again.

“Okay bud, you know the drill. Which one.” It’s a simple thing, you hold the page directly in front of you and whichever is closest to where he butts his head is the one you choose. _(Whatever, it works. He's have never let me down.)_ He chooses the one in the bottom left, the icky one that reminds you vaguely of a zombie. “Loki this is not a game, come on buddy. This is real life. Choose a good one.”You give him an encouraging scratch behind his ears and he meows happily at you. He tries again by rubbing up against the lower right. Number two, much better. This you could work with.

“This I can work with. Have a treat,” You reach over to the bag of things that are probably tasty to cats that you keep on the coffee-table and grab him a piece of unidentifiable meaty goodness. “Go hard bud.”

Picking up your pencil you mark the second sketch and move on to a new page to be filled with all sorts of new ideas. 

* * *

“This place is colder than sin, I swear to god.” The person beside you mutters as you wait for the LRT. You nod a little and hope that they can make out your affirmation in between your shivering. It is really fucking cold.

Checking the time, you grimace. “Of course the LRT is late on this, the coldest of days when I have important things to do.” Your fellow laughs a little and lets the small talk drop. This station is pretty busy most days, but currently, it is only you and a handful of others. Maybe the trains aren't running today? That would really suck, though, you'd have to reschedule your hair appointment for like a third time. You decide to check your emails and see if anybody has tried to get in touch with you about the snow and cold.

_No 3G? Can’t even check my email to see if I should go home. This blows._

There was nothing you could do about it at this point. If the salon was closed, you’d leave a call or something and just come back on Monday after your classes. Hopefully, they’d have an open spot early so you don’t have to stay downtown too late. Your uncles are great and caring people who would probably insist on staying with you or coming to pick you up or some shit. You’re not twelve and you’ve lived in this city for almost a year now _(I’m not a kid anymore! … wait)_

You realize that you are getting mad at your family for loving and caring about you in a scenario that might not even come to pass. Which is dumb and therefore you stop being mad about it. Instead, you just silently pray that the hair place would have a spot for you to get the trim you desperately needed. Split ends are not a joke people, and you wanted yours gone.

The LRT was now 15 minutes late and you were distraught. Either you go back home and hope that everything was cancelled today so you don’t have to feel bad about skipping your classes and hair appointment today, or you tough it out and wait for the LRT, or catch a cab. You hate cabs. They cost you so much because you only ever take them when you need to get across the city on the busy roads. (Usually around rush hour too, because you happen to have the best timing ever.)

In the faint distance, the sound of the train rumbling down the tracks appears, shaking you out of your thoughts. There are sighs of relief all around the station. Now the only thought on your mind is _Go to straight to class, don’t stop and get coffee because if I do, I’ll be late_ and being late really isn’t your style. Neither is coffee, to be perfectly honest, you like tea and hot chocolate more. Coffee is bottom barrel that would require you to be the most determined you’ve ever been to actually finish a cup that hasn’t been downed in creamer and sugar. But, you always get your various morning pick-me-ups from a cute little coffee shop just a block and a half from where most of your classes are, so it’s easier to say “Coffee”. Which is dumb, when you think about it. But you don’t, so it’s fine.

You give a small smile to the person you chatted with _(or chatted at, there was very little conversation really,)_ earlier and wait for the LRT doors to open so you can get out of the blasted cold. Why is it so cold? Negative 20 degrees is the worst; you wonder how on earth you ever got through the negative 40-degree blizzards that used to hit when you were just a little kid. _(Where did all that resistance to the cold go?)_ At least inside the LRT it would be warm.

You step inside and take the closest seat, there aren’t any other people in this specific section so only you and the others who were waiting in the station are there. It was pretty empty, enough so that you let your mind wander a little. This has been the habit for nearly a year, you get down to business very quickly. First, you go back to high school, god what a mess that was. There were … bad times, but you got through them. You were determined to not let the thing that kills you, be you. It feels good knowing how far you’ve made it from where you were. Next, you consider your friends, and how they must be doing. A lot of people you were friends with left home to go to school several hours away. Monique, one of the few who stuck around, was taking drama or something in the fine arts. You are pretty sure that both her major and minor are actually in the fine arts category. No matter what she did with her life, Moni just wanted to make people smile, and you loved her for it. Alex and Jesse both went out of province, so you don’t talk to them much anymore. To bad, they were good people. _(That’s on myself though, if I want to talk to them then I should just talk to them!)_ Jay wasn’t actually a person that you knew before moving to the city, he was one of the few friends you had made on your own.

Well not on your own, Monique actually introduced you two. She had been practicing for some play, Shakespeare probably, when he had spooked her while looking for their design class teacher. The prop in her hand had been thrown at his head. It's a good thing Moni had bad aim. They’ve been friends ever since, and you were just as tight with them once you joined the fray. Jay was the son of an executive in a big company you were always getting the name of wrong, and he worked as an intern to try and get a foot in the door of the business world. Your friends had big dreams, Jay wanted to save the world and Monique wanted to make sure that the world was a bright place for those who were in it. You were proud they had such fire in their souls, you were proud that they saw the same fire in you somewhere.

_They are the greatest people I know, and they think so highly of me. It … It’s humbling, to say the least, and it makes me feel so loved. There is just so much love, and I’m not going to lose it!_

With a determined smile you get a little more comfortable in your seat and wait for the intercom to voice the next stop. “Corona Station”

 _(A few minutes left)_ There isn’t much else for you to sit and think about, reminiscing is fun, but doesn’t last long. You can only do these things for a little while before it gets almost sad and you fall back into old habits. Things that are better left in the past. Instead, you focus on something else, anything else. That stranger in the blue coat for example. He was something you could focus on.

You had cleaned up the sketch the cat had chosen and you’re planning on adding it to the diversity sheet tomorrow. It was a good sketch, no matter how true it may be to what he actually looks like. He had said that he mistook you for someone else, and that gets you wondering who he had been looking for. There was almost a hint of sadness in his voice when he apologized and left you to yourself. Or maybe there wasn’t, it _had_ been a week since it happened. You might just be making things up to fuel this mystery you had in your head as to why he seemed so familiar to you.

“Grandin station. Next stop is Grandin station.” Welp, that was enough thinking for one train ride, now it was time to get a peppermint hot chocolate and draw some stuff. Or animate some stuff. You can't really remember which you were supposed to be doing at present.

* * *

You don’t remember that you were _already_ going to be late for class until the barista is finishing up with your drink.

It’s going to be a long day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey r u interested in what "thumbnailing" is? [check here](http://scary-sans.tumblr.com/post/121791184649/protowilson-troy-artlog-how-to-make-your-art)


	3. Friends (and Other Good Things)

Class was - well class was class, even if your class consisted of art for hours on end. If little-you knew this was what you’d be doing after high school, they’d probably cry. Hell you still sometimes cry about it. _This life you’ve worked so hard for, it’s so much better._ It’s so good, you’ve done so much. It’s finally paying off. You stop yourself before you start to cry. Your eyes get puffy when you cry. A lot has changed and you are in a better place, but crying while you wait for Monique to get back from ordering more fries is not the time.

“Hey Shortstack, I bring the gift of food.” Moni was barely taller than you, three inches at most, but she liked to play it up. Part of being the shortest in her family, you suppose. “Love, were you crying?”

She’s sitting across from you, staring into your face, “No, no, I just, ah. I was just thinking of how far I’ve come. I’m proud of who I have become. Little me would be proud too, I think.” She smiles softly. The two of you had been through a lot since you met, she was your go-to for comfort for a long time. “But enough of the past - give me some fries, home girl!”

She slides the tray over to you and you grab a few fries to munch on. _Thank god for Moni._ “Thank god for you, Moni. You’re the reason I get up every day - you and these glorious fries.”

Monique blushes at that but gives you side eyes with a huge grin “Don’t let Jay hear you say that. He might just take you out on a date to make up for him falling behind.”

You turn a lovely shade of scarlet and glare a little. It looks like this awful game of back and forth you two play way to often is back on. Not that it means anything anyways, your little group is strickly platonic. “Oh but then he’d have to do the same for you, because I am obviously winning here.” A sly wink and then a blown kiss and she’s down for the count. You take a few more fries and relish your victory. Moni blows a raspberry at you, accepting defeat for now at least.

“Do you ever get the feel of deja vu, but not like with an action - with a person?” You ask between two mouthfuls of delicious mall fries. _They should make these in bigger portions, I’m going to need some more before I go._ “Like you know them from another life or something?”

“Did you forget that that is basically what deja vu is? ‘The feeling of familiarity to a situation or person, as if you have lived it before.’ or something stupid like that.” Moni explains while watching you take the last of the ketchup. “Go refill that, please. I got the extra fries, it’s your turn to do something.”

You laugh at your friend's antics and get up to get some more ketchup. Moni is exciting and you’re glad she wanted to hang out today. Back at the table, Moni is checking her phone.

“Jay, or bae?” you ask. For all that she's a helpless flirt, she really does love her partner.

She laughs at you but responds anyways. “Just Jay, wanting to know how your hair looks - It’s great by the way, even though you got the same cut you always do. You have nice hair you know that?”

You go to sit back down and stumble a little. _Curse my clumsy feet._ Or more than a little. It was enough to make your stomach turn slightly, but you were fine and back on stable ground after a moment. Once you are back in your seat you take a quick glance around, embarrassed, and catch a few people who look like they were worried you’d actually fall. There were others too, looking like they didn’t care in the slightest. One of them is wearing blue. You aren’t sure why that matters to you. 

* * *

“Jay you are a god among men,”

_“I know I am kiddo, I’m about five minutes away. Did you get coffee?”_

“Of course, I got coffee, who do you think I am? Some alternate version of myself who doesn’t literally bleed caffeine?”

_“Lmao k, be right there.”_

 

You hang up the call with your nose. It is way too cold out take your hands out of their gloves but Jay cannot hang up on his own. _One of_ _the downsides of his hands-free calling, I guess._ Plus you have nowhere to put Jay’s coffee.

Why is it so fucking cold though? You pull your scarf up a little higher, trying to block out the chill. You had gone back to the campus downtown after your hang out with Monique and got a bit of personal work done. Your uncles had given you a computer to use at home, but there was the whole transferring-your-projects-from-one-computer-to-another-every-day thing that wasn’t really your style. It is a lot easier to just stay downtown and come home later when you work digitally. Digital work is a lot less fun than traditional work, too, in your opinion. _Traditional work is also a lot more tangible. Tangible is nice._ The people wandering around on the street in front of you look so busy. Do they have dreams and goals too? Do they prefer tangible things as well?

You get a little lost in thought while waiting for Jay, and you don’t even notice when a person walks up behind you. You are so enthralled in wondering if the random strangers around you would prefer a painting done in oil to one done in Sai or Photoshop or some shit, that you don’t notice the person wave their hand right in front of your face. They were some pretty interesting thoughts, but you finally notice the hand waving in front of your eyes.

This time you didn’t scream. But you squeaked. People sometimes squeak when they get scared, it is a totally okay response to sudden stimuli. “sorry! just wanted to make sure you were okay. you look a little lost there kiddo.” 

“No, just lost in thought. Can I help you?” You take in the person’s appearance; a little shorter than you - _Not that that is saying much, I’m pretty average height. I have no idea why Monique has to make such a big deal about it, we are both in the “average” range_ \- wearing a puffy blue jacket with the hood up so that you can’t see his face, and a seemingly sad lilt in his voice. You are immediately jealous of his jacket because it has to at least 3 times warmer than yours. Not that you have any information to corroborate that idea, you just get the feeling that that jacket is warmer than any else you’ve worn before. Weird.

Before he can say anything else it hits you. T _his is the guy from a few days ago!_ You point at him a little jerkily with the coffee hand. “Hey wait! You are the guy from like last week! Did you ever find who you were looking for?” 

He backs up a step, probably didn’t recognize you. _But he mistook me for someone else right? Maybe he did remember me, and just thought I wouldn’t remember him?_ “ah, no, they uh, didn’t show up. anyway, if you’re fine, i-i’ll just go.”

You can sense that he’s pretty uncomfortable and you’re willing to let him out but you want something out of this. You need the fuel for whatever clusterfuck your daydreams are about this guy. _Now that I've call it a daydream it’s probably really creepy._

You tell him your name and add simple “It was nice to run into you again.”

He looks down and now you have no chance of finding out what he looks like. "huh. i’m sans. be seeing you.” You let him leave without any more trouble. As he walks away, you note that he still looks pretty uncomfortable. You don’t know if you are more surprised that you didn’t drop Jay’s coffee in all that, or that it happened at all.

 

_Shit, I hope I didn’t offend him. Maybe whoever was supposed to show up was important? It’s pretty sad that they didn’t show up, though, he seems nice._

 

*HOOOOOOOOONK*

This time, you screamed - and drop the coffee. But you want to forget that first bit so it is now in the past and won’t be talked about again.

“Hey, nerd! Get in! Daydream later! We’ve got places to be!” Jay honked again before you got lost in your thoughts again. Typical, yet he scared you every time - He found it funny too! Six months of this shit and it hadn’t gotten old. “Come on Kid, get in!”

You know he will do it again, so you quickly pick up the remains of the coffee he really doesn’t deserve and toss it in the nearby trashcan. When you finally get in, Jay has a weird look on his face. You assume it’s because you dropped his drink.

“Hey uh, did you know that guy?” What guy? Oh! He must mean, uh … Sans! Not even five minutes later and you already forgot his name? _Damn, I guess was only interested because of the mystery._  You pinpoint his expression as concerned. “He looked like he could use some help. Was he doing okay?”

“I’m not sure actually, I only met him in passing. I’m sure it’s nothing though, Jay. Don’t see bad things where there are none.” Jay had a habit of concerning himself with the worries of others. He wanted to save the world and he needed to start somewhere. It just so happened that his “somewhere” was often really a “someone” who didn’t need _(or want)_ his help in the first place. There may be a couple of questionable actions in Jay’s past _(and future)_ but he really is a good guy at heart. 

You turned a little to give him the affectionate look this train of thought had offered and realize he's gone back to talking. Typical. “-had seen you jump a mile high but I never thought that I’d actually hear a real scream from you! Most of the time you just do that squeaky thing - nobody else I know squeaks. Ya know, you kinda remind me of a mouse. Maybe it is how determined you are.”

 

_Jay, how are mice determined? Jay, what are you even saying? Jay no._

 

“Sorry about the coffee, guess you really got the _jump_ on me!” You give him the best shit eating grin you have, in hopes that it will make him stop talking about nonsense. It works, in part at least as he stops rambling and puts the car in drive.

He is driving now, so it isn’t like he can give you the proper response to such a statement, but he does come up with something. “Who hurt you and made you the way you are today?” He coughs to cover up a laugh.

 

_He’s cracking, look at his face! One more, two at most and then I will have gotten him. One laugh, a chuckle, hell even the smallest bit of a giggle, and then he's caught. He’ll be too worried I’ll make another pun to even attempt conversation._

 

You allow a silence to fall in the car. Just one simple joke, but you just hoped that it would time out so you could deliver it properly. Jokes are all about the delivery. Even if they are just bad puns.

“Hey, are you alright? Normally you’d have another shitty pun for me by now.” The car started to slow as the car approached a yellow light. _We need to pick up the pace!_

  “Yea, I uh, I can’t think of anything?” You have to sell this with the expressions. _Look exasperated!_

The car rolls to a stop and Jay gives you the same look he gave Monique when she told him she speaks latin. It’s properly known as the “Who the fuck are you and what did you do to my friend” look. “Are you kidding? Sure you aren’t sick or something?”

You deadpan. “I’m not not _Kidding_ , and I'm definitely not _Sick_. Jay, I’m me, you should know this.”

He sputters and turns back towards the road, exasperated. 

 

_That was perfect. Thank god that I was able to get it all out before the light turned green. His reaction wouldn’t have been so sweet if he had to think about driving more than my jokes. It’s always so satisfying to lay a good one on him. Jay is the best._

 

“No seriously, though, sorry about your coffee.” You fish your phone out of your pocket and check the time. “The shop is still open if you want to go back and get another. The barista there likes you enough he’d probably just _give_ it to you if you bat your eyelashes enough.”

Jay looks at you, sarcastically cold. “Don’t get my hopes up, you heathen. Is it really so bad that I want to mack on some cute boys?” He switches to puppy dog eyes halfway through his comment and makes you laugh more than is acceptable in this situation. _He just looks so silly when he makes that face!_

“Not when you call it ‘macking on’!” You manage to sputter out between hearty chuckles.

When he sneaks a glance at you at the next stop light, there is a sense of amusement and familiarity in his eyes and it makes you feel happy. Leave it to your friends to turn what was probably going to be an awful day into something great. _‘Macking on’ is still a really stupid term and Jay, my friend, you need to stop with the stupid terms. This is exactly why boys don’t want to make out with you._

It isn’t too late in the evening but since the sun set a few hours ago, the city looks like it’s sleeping. The world is so peaceful in the wintertime. You angle your head so that you can see the sky through the car window, even if you can’t see the stars. Nonetheless, the idea of stars is comforting. It reminds you of how many things exist in the universe that you haven’t seen yet.

“So I’m thinking you, me, and the monster, all head out to the ocean over spring break. Dad is planning on a trip to the UK for work, so we’d have the whole summer house to ourselves, and it’ll be early in the year so there shouldn’t be too many tourists around.” The summer house was a place you hadn’t been to yet. You do take a moment to curse your friend. Rich people, summer houses, jeez. “It’ll be an adventure to somewhere new, I know how much you love shit like that.” He beams at you as he looks away from the road at the next stoplight.

“Whatever you dork, just take me home.”   _My friends really are the greatest._  

* * *

 “Don’t look at me like that Az, you are not being fair.” How do cats manage to look so judgmental? They are literally just bundles of fur and hunger. “Azi, seriously. This is your fault. If you wanted to sleep with me last night you should have gotten here before Loki. You know that.”

Azi meows at you and flicks her tail. Whatever it is she actually wanted, it was too early to actually think about. _Fuck mornings. Fuck the cold._ Azi, your sweet, sweet baby was the only good thing about mornings in general.

“Az, light of my life, do you know where my phone is?”

She meows at you.

“Don’t be mean Kitty, I’m the one that feeds you.”

You get out of bed, trying to keep your blanket wrapped around your shoulders till you can find your housecoat. Why did it have to be so cold inside your house?

“Ugh. I need food,” you mutter as your stomach grumbles. “Oh stomach, you agree with me, let’s get us some food.” You pat your belly and decide that that was a weird interaction with yourself but it probably had something to do with being hungry.

Azi angrily paws around your doorway in her usual “feed me, you asshole” way. You comply and head to the kitchen. 

About halfway there, Loki comes out of hiding and starts whining for you to do shit as well. What the fuck? Honestly, it is way too early for this shit. All you want is to get something to eat. Animals are so noisy. You give them their food and put a kettle of water on to boil. Before your water had finished boiling, they start whining again.

“Both of you should know it’s too cold to go outside. You’ll both be back inside before I even put the teabag in.”

You decide to just leave the door open for them while you finish making your tea. Your hand hadn’t even turned the knob on the door before you hear two sets of feet come your way. _Wait._ There is a third set. It had long, blunt nails. _Cats don’t have nails like that._

Before you begin to comprehend what is going on, a streak of white makes its way past you and out past the gate you left open when Jay dropped you off last night.

 

_A streak of wh-ROBERT’S DOG. FUCK._

 

You slip on the closest shoes that look vaguely yours and trade your housecoat for the closest outdoor jacket and run after his fucking dog. Haphazardly, you slam the door behind you and run. You leave the gate open, though, in too much of a rush to properly care or fix it.

Out to the front and to the left, _doggy_ always _goes to the left._

Before you can react to anything else, you hear a loud crash.

 _Ok, what now, first the dog and now-_ You don’t even realize that you crashed into a person while on your mad dash after your uncle’s dog until they are helping you up.

  “OhmygoshIamsososorry!” You start spewing apologies at them, but spend more time trying to determine which way the dog went than in making sure the person you crashed into was alright. Woops, barely 7:00 in the morning and you were already a bad person today. In all honesty, nothing that was happening currently was registering in your mind other than the fact that you _needed_ to catch the dog, so you probably wouldn’t even remember the person you were supposed to feel bad about.  

“don’t worry about it, i’m tough as _bone_ , i can take it.” You understand that as the end of this conversation, say another hurried apology, then bolt after the escaping dog.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to make sure you know !! How much !! Reader loves their friends !! 
> 
> I have a midterm tomorrow and that means that I havent finished chapter four yet, so that might not be out till the end of the week. 
> 
> (also tfw ur [beta](paraducks-space.tumblr.com) does more work than you do to put out a chapter)


	4. In Which Your Life is Equated to a Sitcom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm really bad at writing filler!! So we meet Sans this chapter!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one is later than expected(School has been kicking our asses)!! Chapter 4 is longer!! and mostly done so !!

“Hey, seriously though, sorry about running into you like that. This is the least I could do.” You hope that it isn’t too weird to buy him an apology coffee for crashing into him like an idiot. _He seems pretty uncomfortable, though maybe it is a bit too weird._ Too late now though. “What would you like? I don’t actually drink coffee so I don’t know what to recommend - well other than the peppermint hot chocolate and the golden green tea. It’s best with milk, but honey works too I guess...” Oh jeez, if it hadn't been weird before your rambling was definitly getting it there now.

You manage to stop talking. You don’t stop thinking, though, that train has left the station and there is no slowing it down now.

You had found your uncle’s dog quickly enough - it was trying to dig a hole in the snow and frozen ground at a nearby park. On the way back, you couldn’t find the person you had run into anywheres. Too bad, you had thought. You had wanted to apologize again, the first time it had been fairly rushed. But, they were nowhere to be found so you just went home and got ready for your day.

 

_I swear to god I live in some bad sitcom. Of course I would run into “them” later. Plus, it turns out that “them” was Sans and now I’m buying him coffee to make up for it._

 

It had been really awkward, or at least it had been really awkward _for you._ You had been waiting for the LRT when Sans had appeared beside you and you both mumbled something like “fancy finding you here” _which as a statement makes no sense,_ before he asked if you had any trouble finding the dog. You had laughed and said that he had ended up in the same place as always. Then it hit you; if he knew about Robert’s dog getting out, Sans had either seen it, awkward, or had had been there, double awkward. 

With much convincing (and the seemingly never ending stream of apologies you were spewing), Sans had agreed to join you on your morning coffee run. Your treat, of course.

“i’ll try the hot chocolate. coffee sets me too _on edge._ ” Sans seemed to have picked up on how nervous you were but did he really just make a pun about it?

“Did you just make a pun?” Sometimes, your lack of a filter surprises you. This is not one of those times.

“puns are the highest form of comedy.” You still can’t see his face, but there is a smile in his voice. That may not have been a joke, but you laugh a little anyways. This Sans guy was pretty funny.

Still chuckling quietly, you order the drinks and the two of you move over to the side to wait for the barista to finish with them. You can’t shake the feeling that you know him from somewhere, but he still seems too shaken up about _something_ for you to be comfortable enough to ask. Nobody says anything until after your drinks have been handed to you.

“Sure is getting colder out there.” You comment, looking out the massive windows, attempting to make conversation. Together you two move out of the way of other people in the line.

“yeah, it’s _snow_ joke.” 

You start laughing _again._ Both of your friends would love this guy. He seems like the kind of person that you would enjoy hanging out with. Other people aren’t able to keep up with your love of jokes. Maybe he’d be down for coffee one day.

“Hey, would you be up for coffee one day? I need someone with an actual taste in jokes to practice with. My friends will laugh at anything.”

He lifts his cup at you but doesn’t turn to look at you, looking out the window. Still hiding his face, not that you notice this behaviour.

You check the time on your phone. “I mean on a day when I’m not late for class.” _wait._ “Shit, I’m late for class!”

He’s laughing at you, you can hear it. Whatever, you have got places to be. Seriously. How did you let yourself get this habit of being late! This is not your style!

 

_Well, now, apparently it is. Maybe I should just start making my hot chocolate at home? It’d save ti- I AM LATE. NO TIME, I HAVE NO TIME FOR THIS._

 

He takes your hot chocolate from you so you can put your toque and mitts back on properly. If you looked now, you could probably get a glance on his face, but you don’t because this is the third day in a row and _fifth this month_ that you will be late for class and that is not okay.

After a moment you take it back from him and you notice he’s written something on it. It looks like a … phone number?

“always willing to help another comedy connoisseur.”

You chuckle and turn to him. He’s looking away again. _Can’t worry about that, you are LATE._

With that and a fast goodbye, you are out the door and back into the cold. 

* * *

 “How did he manage to write his number on it? He was only holding it for like thirty seconds. Maybe it isn’t even his number, like maybe the barista wrote that and I just didn’t notice till then?”You pick up Loki, and stare into his eyes like they had the answers.

“Didn’t you say that he said something about it, though? Nobody would do that if they were talking about another person’s number.” Monique walks back into your living room and takes Loki from you.The dumb thing starts cuddling up to her immediately. _Traitor._ “Just text it, stop being a baby about this.”

On the ground in front of you, Jay leans back enough so that he can see you. “I’ve got to agree with the Monster on this. Text the number and get it over with.” He turns back towards the T.V. “No! Don’t add nutmeg! You’re going to overpower the pomegranate!”

“Pizza’s here.” The cat shakes himself out of Monique’s arms as she looks out the window. “Oh you damn thing, I was loving you.”

You laugh at your friend's antics and get up to the door. If you can make it there before Robert’s dog notices someone is coming, all the better for everyone. _He’s already gotten out once today. That's one time too many._

The delivery car has just rolled up by the time you get to the doorway, so you decide to just wait outside. Dog - _what a name for an animal, like jeez Uncle, what were you thinking_ \- wouldn’t be able to run away this time if you already had it closed. As you wait for the delivery person to get to the door, you notice another person walking on the opposite side of the street. _It almost looks like -_

“So your total is $28.45, cash or card?” You were too distracted to notice the delivery person had come up to the door. A little embarrassed, you fish your cash out of your pocket. “Thanks, let me grab your change from the car.”

A spur of the moment decision has you texting probably-Sans, who just happened to be the one walking past.   
  
    -Want 2 join us for pizza night?   
  
You wave, hoping that he had already seen you when you first texted him  
  
    *thanks for the offer  
    *but i’m a little busy

    -lmao thats fine  
    -my friends can b a little hectic

    *i can relate

 

  “Here’s your change.” _RIGHT THE PIZZA._ You take your food and change and give the delivery person your thanks. Then you toss up a wave to Sans and head back inside.

 

    -have a good night then

    *will do. u 2  
    *no bono

    -lmao c ya

 

When you arrive back inside the house, you are accosted by yelling friends.

“WHO ARE YOU TEXTING?”

“GIVE ME YOUR PHONE.”

“NO GIVE IT TO ME!” 

“GIVE IT TO US!”

“SHARING IS CARING.”

“Haha no.” Their glares do nothing to you, you are too strong to give in that easily. Besides, you have food in your hands, and holy shit are you fucking hungry. You take everything into the kitchen and dish yourself a few slices. _A little greasy, but pizza is pizza._ Purposefully ignoring your friends, you go back to the living room and retake your spot on the couch. They join you after a few seconds, still glaring, but pacified by the food.

You still don’t want to talk about it. Now that the exchange with Sans was over, you are a little embarrassed that it happened in the first place. Still though, it was weird that he had been walking by in the first place. _Feels kinda like he’s around every corner lately._ Instead of giving them an inch, you lead the conversation back to the T.V. show that everyone had been watching. “So who is in the lead. Did nutmeg-and-pomegranate get voted off?”

Monique doesn’t relent but Jay quickly accepted it. “No, he’s still here. Thank god. I don’t want the Baby Blue lady winning. I mean, blue hair? And it isn’t even a good dye job. You’re on T.V., lady. Put a little effort in!” He sits back down on the floor in front of the couch and once again gets immediately immersed in the show. You set your pizza and phone down on the coffee table in front of you to get comfy. There is a quick woosh and Monique is standing on the other side other side of you, holding your phone. _Well I guess they’re going see it now no matter what I do._ You resign yourself to your fate and let the Monster read your texts out to Jay.

“You invited him to pizza night? Aw, he didn’t want to come, but lmao why did you invite him?” Jay asks once Monique finished reading.

You shrug. “He was walking by outside when the delivery kid got here.” No point in lying.

“Well, at least you don’t have to worry about whose number that is. I can’t believe he used the ‘No bono’ joke. If it wasn’t for how often you use it, I'd have no idea what it means. ” _Looks like the_ _Monster lost interest. Too bad._

Jay looks at Monique with complete seriousness. _Well as serious as a guy with pizza sauce on his face can._  “Okay, but fuck U2. Fuck Bono; and fuck everyone who likes that hellish band.”

"Uh, Jay?" You catch his attention, snickering. "You've got a little..." You trail off as Moni starts rubbing a point on her chin. The red his face turns is almost the same colour as the sauce.

  Everybody calms down after that, and you settle down for a comfortable night of shitty T.V., bad pizza, and lovely friends.

* * *

It's been two weeks. Beyond his name, you really don't know much about Sans. Blue jacket and likes puns - that's basically all you have. The most infuriating bit, however, is that you  _feel_ like you should know more. Like you're long time friends with him. Maybe that's why you can't just let it go? Well, no matter the reason, you'd really like to get to the bottom of it all. Perhaps over coffee? Not like as a date or anything, just a chat and a chance to figure out why Sans seems to give you the weirdest sense of deja-vu.

You hope that an out of the blue offer for coffee isn't too weird. It feels like it'd be too weird, but hopefully, it wouldn't be. Besides, he'd already agreed to it, right? Nobody had specified a date, but he totally seemed to be interested. 

After an entire day of trying to work up the confidence to text Sans, you start packing up  your stuff at the downtown campus to go home. You’re just about to give Jay a call and ask if he can drive you home when you notice a message on your phone.

 

    *are you up for that coffee

 

Well, that solved your problem of trying to text him.

 

    -like 2nite?

    *yea, if you can make it

    -sure y not.  
    -just let me know where and when

    *your cafe and twenty minutes?

    -lmao k  
    -meet ya there !

 

It only takes you ten minutes to get to the cafe from here, so you decide to hang out for a few more minutes before heading out. There are massive butterflies in your stomach, which is pretty weird. You’re usually fine with meeting people when they were the ones that made all the plans. _Maybe it's because I don't actually know him? That could be it._  You fuck around with some mobile games for a round or two and then decide that you know what, you can be a few minutes early. That’s totally fine.

You take your time exiting the building, not looking forward to the cold air. Nervousness and excitement speed you down the street to the cafe, however. You don’t want to wait outside but sitting inside may make it look too much like your waiting? Wait, why on earth would you care. It’s just coffee between almost-friends, and not even in a romantic way. With that in mind, you decide to just sit inside and wait. It’s too cold to be outside for longer than you have to be anyways.

You decide not to order just yet, though, so you just sit and grab your phone. Maybe now you will have a chance to finish that game you were playing. For all that it is a time waster, you enjoy messing around with it every now and then.

“what, did you get bored waiting for me?”

You smile and shake your head but don’t look up from your game. It had only been a few minutes, just like you expected.

“well, i will do my best to make sure you aren’t bored.”

“I’m sure you will.” Your game finishes and you go to look up at Sans, only to find him across the cafe, ordering his drink. You start to get up, but Sans waves you down over his shoulder. How does he know what you’re doing without being able to see you? Whatever, who cares. _I don’t feel like wasting the brain power on something so insignificant._ Sans comes back to the table after a few minutes.

“golden green tea, the other thing you recommended right?” He sets a steaming cup down in front of you. “does it meet the _gold_ standard?”

That was bad, like not even bad enough to be good, just _bad_. “That was bad.” You give him a blank stare.

He shrugs and sits down, continuing the trend from last time of not looking directly at you. “they can’t all be winners.” _That’s true._ You nod and take the first sip of your tea.

 

_DAMN! I always forget that the tea is way hotter than the hot chocolate! That fucking burns!_

 

You must have made some sort of noise in pain because now he’s looking straight at you, probably concerned. That doesn’t register, though, because right now, for the first time, you can see his face.

 

_…_

_what._

 

It doesn’t look anything like you thought it would.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Monique was gifted with my nosiness, Reader got both my inability to go more than two waking hours without a hot drink and my inner thought process, and Jay; Jay got my terrible habit of saying lmao out loud.
> 
> It's pronounced la-MA-ow
> 
> (as always , eternal thanks to my beta trace @paraducks-space on tumblr)


	5. In Which You Decide it's More of a YA Novel Really

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW: Disassociation, Depersonalization, Some self hate, emotional seesawing, and a story. (symptoms are based on my own, so please don't take anything here as word of god mental illness wise)

You immediately put up your poker face. Despite being a particularly expressive person, you could do a blank face that gave nothing to anyone. Normally, you’d congratulate yourself for pulling that together so fast, but right now you are very distracted.

 

 _Ok calm down. Get it together, once you have it together things will_ _make sense_

_Step one: focus on a feeling_

 

You focus intently on how hot the tea was and how warm the cup of it makes your hand. 

 

_Step two: breath deep, count to ten, remember to exhale_

 

You count to ten mentally while trying to take deep breaths. Or normal breaths, really, just not shallow ones. Still feeling a little unstable but not wanting to go through the whole “anti-panic-attack” routine while in public, you repeat step two three more times. After that, you feel you've calmed down enough to look at him again.

Sans is no longer looking at you. You aren’t sure what you expected. Besides, if he actually did have a skull for a face, what would you do? How does someone respond to that?

 

_This could just be a hallucination. Or a dream. If this is a dream, then I am going to have a good time. Visualization is key. I am going to have a good time._

_If all this really is a hallucination, though, then I'm just going to go with it. I doubt Sans would take well to being told he looks like a skeleton._

_Worst to worst, this is real life and I live in a YA novel._

 

Your mind is going a mile a minute, but at least it's distracting enough to help distract you from the source of your anxiety.

 

_Don’t most YA novels have a female protag and then like a cursed or some shit male love interest? Who dies at the end? What would happen to my nonbinary ass? Shit what if I would be one if those side characters who dies in the first ten pages._

 

You are so distracted now that you don’t notice your breathing has returned to normal and you’ve dropped your ‘mask’. Absent mindedly, you take another sip of your tea and -

 

_OW SHIT._

 

“Ow, shit. I forgot that that was fucking hot.” You glare at the cup for a moment before remembering Sans. _Shit! forgot about him too._ Slowly you look back to him, remembering what had happened the first time. Unfortunately, this causes your breathing to hike and your mental state to again deteriorate quickly.

You have no idea how to read the expressions of a skull. Especially since this one doesn’t look like a skull should. It - _he_ has too big of eye sockets, brow ridges that are moving wildly _(is that supposed to be an eyebrow wiggle?)_ , and no jaw bone. Just a mouth that looked like it was permanently closed - but still open? Like a smile. _What the fuck._

“what, do you have a _bone_ to pick with me or something?” He winks. That shouldn’t be possible.

You are _shocked._ Your brain isn’t working anymore. This is too weird. You just take a huge, burning gulp of your tea. The heat helps ground you.

“ _talus,_ are you alright kiddo?” He’s still got the one eye closed. _Does that still count as a wink?_ “kid?”

Something clicks and you force your mouth to say something, _anything_ “Sorry, I just wasn’t expecting to be friends with such a _bonehead_.” That didn't sound like something you'd say. Did you even say it? While on one hand, you're glad that you managed to say  _something_ , you also made a pun at him. Is that offensive? Are you being rude?? What is happening???

“heh, good one. i was beginning to worry about you.” He’s … grinning? Can a skull actually grin? _What the actual fuck._ You don’t say anything about anything, you aren’t even sure that you could. Things are happening too fast, you can feel yourself beginning to shut down again. Another burning gulp and you can focus a little. One more and you think you can talk enough to ask a question.

“I-i-i” _This isn’t working._ You try again. “R-real?”

 

_Hah, can’t even get a full word out. How can I possibly manage to do anything?_

 

You stop yourself. If you think this place is too public for an anxiety attack _(as if I can choose where this happens to me)_ , it sure as hell is way too public for the accompanying self hate and downward spiral. Your hand starts tapping against the table but you don’t stop it. The movement will help calm you down eventually. Determined to get an explanation from Sans _(give me a fucking anxiety attack, you better fucking have a reason)_ , you look at him.

His grin _(I guess that’s what it is?)_ looks a little sadder, how he manages to do that you have no idea. “yea, this is real kid. guess that answers my next question, though.” Even if you could get your mouth to work now, you wouldn’t have any sort of response to that. “kid, you have no idea who i am, do you.”

He doesn’t ask it like it’s a question, but he phrases it that way. That makes it seem like you not knowing him is some absolute truth that Sans doesn’t want to acknowledge. It makes _him_  seem like he’s not telling you the whole story. Half truths are lies you tell to people you love. You can’t read his empty eye sockets for any expression, and his mouth hasn’t changed from a wide grin; but if he had skin and flesh you imagine he’d look rather sad. Or lonely. Perhaps some mix of the two.

 

_I’m talking to a skeleton. In a coffee shop. This is … This … well it’s fucking weird is what it is._

 

You try to ignore the idea that Monique “accidentally” slipped something into the food she bought for you during your daily lunch meetup. Sans draws you back out of your thoughts again. “this has got to be really strange for you then huh, if you don’t remember me.”

Your finger is still tapping incessantly against the table. It’s probably pretty annoying but Sans doesn’t seem to notice. His eyes _(I guess?? They're just glowey pupils?)_ don’t stray from yours even once - he seems pretty determined to figure out just what the fuck is going on. Apparently, you were also acting weird, in his eyes at least. _(Is it insensitive to use that phrase when he doesn’t have any eyes?)_

“well if you really can’t remember any of it, then boy do i have a _tale_ to tell you.” He stands up and numbly, you do the same. The hand that had been tapping against the table throughout the whole ordeal was now tapping against your thigh. _At least I’m being consistent._

“hey kiddo, the whole thing might sound pretty strange, but trust me. none of it’s a _fibula_.” With that, you both make your way back out into the cold, hot drinks in hand. 

* * *

You’re about half a block away from your house, leaning pretty heavily on Sans. He said that “it” was going to be weird, and the consequences of any of your actions aren’t really registering so you had decided to have him tell you at home. Honestly, nothing is really registering for you, everything is just sorta  _happening_  right now.

Every now and then during your trip to the LRT station and then your house, you had to stop and take a moment to calm down because you were shaking so bad. You’d stop moving and lean against whatever is closest - which was sometimes just Sans himself - for a minute or two and then just keep walking. Thankfully, Sans didn’t say anything. He didn’t make a fuss or a scene about it; he just let you use him as a grounder while you tried to regain control of your limbs.

 

_God if I could feel anything right now, I’d probably be pretty fucking embarrassed. Damn, thank god I’m not feeling that. Lmao. I wonder how long this unfeeling is going to last._

_Maybe Mom-ique can call the school and say I’ll be too sick to go to classes tomorrow._

_MOM-NIQUE. I gotta remember that! She’ll hate it!!_

_…_

_man, I could really use a nap._

 

Sans stopped walking, causing you to nearly fall over. You don’t say anything or even look at him. _Feels like I’m floating._

“this is your house, right?”

You nod. You think it is your house.

“front door?”

Shake.

“side?”

Nod.

“okay.”

Sans slowly starts to walk again, holding on to you to make sure you don’t fall. The gate is still slightly open, meaning you must have forgotten to close it all the way this morning, but at least now you don’t have to hassle yourself with it. He lets you walk up the steps to the side door on your own as he goes back and fully closes the gate. It takes you a moment, but you get both doors open and make your way into the living room.

 

_Thank god we don’t have carpet, if I have to bend over to take off my shoes right now, I don’t think I’ll be able to get back up._

 

You drop onto the couch as another wave of tremors hits you. From the back entry you can hear Sans shutting the doors and coming into the main house. Lazily, you realize that Sans is probably a skeleton _(still unsure)_ and you have a dog - a dog that goes through bones like a baby goes through diapers - even if the dog was probably asleep right now and would leave you both alone. _Wait, that was a gross comparison_. At least you’re pretty sure that it was a gross comparison. Things still just _are_ \- even if they are only in your head - and you can’t really feel anything about it yet.

You had effectively distracted yourself from the dog. Hopefully, that wouldn’t come back to _bite_ you later.

Loki comes running when he notices you, purring before you can even reach him. Still shaking violently, you raise an arm and begin to pet him mechanically. His purring was beginning to calm you down enough that your shaking fit ended a minute or two sooner than expected.

“nice cat.” Sans had found his way to the living room without your noticing. Loki ran over to greet him, leaving you all alone. _Traitor._ You notice that Sans still has his gloves on, despite being inside.

 

_It makes sense, if he is just a walking-talking bone bag, people might not too take to kindly to seeing all, uh, that._

_..._

_I wonder if he’d be able to detach any of his limbs._

 

You move over on the couch so he can sit beside you, and pull Loki back into your arms. The dumb baby just keeps purring but it helps so you don’t make any attempts to stop him. Sans takes his seat and side eyes you like you just replaced his best friend and no one else can tell.

It’s a little disconcerting.

“are you ready to start? it’s a pretty long story.” You give him a small smile, or at least you try to. It probably doesn’t look that much like a smile but his grin _(honestly, is that a real grin? Is his face just stuck like that?)_ gets a little bigger and he starts.

“i’m not going to say ‘once upon a time’ because this is true. even if it really did happen once upon a time.

“one day, eight or nine years ago, a kid fell into a hole and got stuck down there. the underground swallowed them up without a second thought and left the child all alone. It took them some time, but eventually they began to explore their surroundings, and found it alive with the monsters that lived there. scared of all the monsters they met, the child lashed out in violent fear when encountered too closely. a kind woman took them in, but weeks later, when the child asked how to leave, the woman got upset. she told the child to prove themselves to her, prove that they would survive the underground. angry, scared, and slightly betrayed that the only person they had trusted was now trying to fight them, the child did as they were asked. they didn’t know their own strength however, and accidentally killed the woman. the child was so distraught, so angry and hateful towards themselves, they didn't move until they had cried themself to sleep. when the child woke, they were yet again in the pile of flowers they had landed in when they first fell down. slowly, they started to make their way through the ruins again. all the monsters they fought acted like they didn’t recognize the child. much to the child’s surprize, the monsters that they had accidentally hurt were also back - including the woman. when the child saw the woman was still alive, they ran into her arms crying. the woman didn’t say anything but took them back home. she didn’t remember the child either, but tears are tears and a mother can never say no to those.”

Sans stopped for a moment and turned to face you. You hadn't realized until he was looking at you, but you had started crying. Why had you been crying? His story wasn’t even that sad. Embarrassed, you wipe your eyes- _wait._ If you’re getting embarrassed, then _feeling_ is starting to come back. Shit.

You sigh in annoyance, but finish drying your face off. “I’m fine, you can keep going with your fairytale.”

His eye sockets narrow a little. “it’s not a _fairy_ tale. but, i’ll take the hint and get this show back on the road.”

“the child stayed with the woman for several weeks longer than the first time, where they were very happy and very loved. but eventually, the need to progress once again took hold of the child. already knowing the outcome, they asked the woman how to leave the ruins. hhe woman responded as she did before, telling the child first that leaving would mean death and then to prove themselves. this time, the child refused to fight. no matter what the woman threw at the child, they would not give her anything other than mercy. soon the woman gave in, tears in her eyes because she was so worried about the future of the child. she opened the door and let the child go with a hug and request that they not come back. the child was just as sad, but they did exactly what the woman said. with a heavy heart, the child left the most loving home they had ever had, but they were determined to make a better future for both the woman and themselves”

You stop petting your cat for a moment and look intently at Sans. His not-story was keeping your mind busy enough to distract you from the “episode” you had had earlier, but you now had questions about what he was telling you. _God, does he know how comforting it is that he’s just talking, even if I have no idea what he’s saying?_

“Was there something bad in the woman’s future? Also are these ‘ruins’ still underground?” You ask, slowly continuing to pet your cat.

The glowing pinpricks that you are pretty sure are supposed to be his pupils get smaller, making him look a little unfocused, wistful. “what happened to the woman is pretty important to what happens later, and i wouldn’t want to spoil it for you. the ruins are in the underground, though, they are just one section. ruins, snowdin, waterfall, hotland, and new home.”

“New Home?”

“i’ll, uh, explain that later too.” He refocuses on you. Or at least that’s what you think happened - his glow-pupils got bigger at least. “let’s get back to it then, huh?”

You nod.

“alright. leaving the ruins: so once the child left, they were unsure of where to go next. there was a path on the other side of the door into the ruins that lead into a snowy forest. without any other direction, the child followed the path.” Sans’ smile gained a bit of glee. Whatever happened next obviously made him happy. “the child was so focused on continuing forward to where they were going to go, that they didn’t think to check over their shoulder even once. Due to that, a very _punny_ skeleton was able to get the _jump_ on them.” His grin looked malicious and you prayed that it was a trick of the light.

You thought he was talking about himself until he said that _(and he had_ \- has, actually - _has such a creepy grin on his face. Wtf man)_. You couldn’t really picture Sans being violent! But then again, how much do you really know about him? His name? He’s probably a skeleton and not a hallucination? He likes puns? But you have this gut feeling that Sans is a good guy and that violence doesn’t suit him, so you are a little shocked.

“oh, don’t look at me like that. i got them with a _joke._ ” You are pretty sure that you hadn't made a face at him, but you let it slide. “woopie cushion in the hand. that one is _always_ funny. anyway, after meeting me, the kid got to meet my brother.”

You accidentally give Loki a squeeze when you hear that. _He has a brother? Is it a blood relation? Do skeletons have blood? Probably not. Still though, brother?_ ”You have a brother? What’s he like? What’s his name?”

Loki runs away from your sudden outburst, but that does not matter to you in the slightest. You are way too interested in this new information about Sans.

“his name’s papyrus, he loves puzzles and helping people. it took him years, but he finally learned how to make a good plate of spaghetti, and he has the best reaction to my puns ever.”

“He sounds really cool!” You probably had stars in your eyes.

“papyrus is the coolest guy i know.” If Sans had eyes, his would have stars in them too.

The thought hits you that if Sans is a skeleton _(still unproven, could be dreaming)_ , and they are blood relations, that Papyrus is probably also a skeleton. You realize you’re asking before you have time to think about it. “Hey, do you have a picture of him?”

Sans apparently didn’t think to just show you a photo. Quickly, he pulls out his phone, presses some buttons, and then passes it to you. It’s a picture of Sans with a bunch of people you don’t recognize. He looks happy.

“Which one is he?” You wonder aloud. _Wait._ “Wait. He’s that one right, the other skeleton?” You twist your hands enough so that Sans can see the phone as well to confirm.

“yea thats my bro” Nodding, you try to take in all that you can about Papyrus.

From the picture you can tell that he’s probably eight inches taller than Sans, so maybe 6 inches taller than you. Both of them were smiling, Sans with his grin and Papyrus with this all encompassing smile. Seeing _his_ smile, makes you want to smile. You had a feeling Papyrus was always excited. Also, Papyrus definitely was a skeleton. _No bones about it._ You snicker quietly at your own pun.

 

_…_

_I feel better. Like … Like I didn’t even have that ‘episode’ earlier. This guy, he distracted me enough to calm me down. Sans is a pretty nice person._

_Still, can’t get over the feeling that I know him from somewhere, though._

_Oh well._

 

You return to inspecting the picture, There are another five people to look at. From left to right it goes: Papyrus, Sans, a human child, a goat lady, a fish lady with an eyepatch _(pirate?)_ , a dinosaur/lizard lady, and a goat man. Or maybe they were cows? They had horns and fur - you left it at that. The Child looked to be around 12 or 13. They had a mop of brown hair, a striped sweatshirt, and they were holding Sans’ right hand and the goat-womans’ left. They also remind you of you when you were that young. You assume this is the child in the story.

“that pictures a little old, but it was taken after the kid got us out of the underground. that was our first time at the ocean. it _shore_ was a blast.”

You snicker and look up at him, reaching to pass the phone back.

“nah hold onto it for now. i think we’re done with history for a while, but i can tell you a bit about each of us.” He’s grinning, his eye sockets slightly squished, the mark of a truly happy expression. That’s a look that apparently also applies to moving skeletons. Good to know.

“you already know about pap and i, and next to us is the kid, frisk. they like butterscotch and cinnamon, bad jokes, every colour but yellow, and making friends with everyone. i doubt frisk even has a mean bone in their body.” Sans is staring at you intently, like he wants something from you. You can’t handle being in the hot seat for too long and focus yourself back on the picture.

Frisk looks sweet. Like Sans had said, you couldn't imagine such them being anything other than kind. Just like the feeling you had about Sans, Frisk looked like they were hiding something. You’d wonder about why you get that feeling from a little kid in a photograph later. Now was not the time.

“ya know, kiddo, you remind me a lot of frisk.” The feeling that _he_ was only telling half truths came back full force. “anyways, next to them is toriel. former queen of the monsters, makes the best pie anyone has ever eaten, teacher and the most ‘mom’ person i’ve ever met. she actually adopted frisk after everyone was saved. those two made one happy family.” Goat/cow lady was a goat/cow mom? _Cool._ She looks like a mom person and you can practically feel the waves of love and care rolling off of her.

You feel safe just looking at Toriel. _Weird._ Sans cleares his throat, startling you out of your musing.

“beside tori is undyne, the old captain of the royal guard. she’s fiery, passionate, a great leader and only her wife, alphys can calm her down. although alphys usually doesn’t. thinks it’s endearing or some shit, i don’t know… alphys is the one in the lab coat beside her, by the way.”

The eyepatch is calling to you - you really want to ask if Undyne is a pirate. “Is Undyne a pirate?” _God this whole no-filter shit is getting ol-  
_

Your thoughts get cut off by wholehearted, open mouthed laughter that had snorts mixed in between every few moments. You look over and beside you, Sans is having a complete fit. _Was my question really that funny? Also ... how can he snort if he has no nose?_ Apparently it wasn’t as funny as your expression _(probably super confused),_ because Sans started to calm down twice and but started up again as soon as he saw your face. For about 30 seconds you just look at him with your jaw somewhere near the floor as he almost dies of laughter. 

 

As weird as it is, when you think about this moment later, you’ll think it feels like home.

 

“that - that’s a good one kid.”

“As funny as it seems, that was a real question.”

He turns to you, visibly struggling to hold in any more laughter. “n-no she’s not a pirate. actually, she’s more of a _fish out of water_ when she’s on a boat.”

You can feel your face screw up at his attempt to joke. “That was really bad.”

“i’m not lying - she gets motion sick on boats.”

Your face unscrews a little. “A fish lady gets … motion sickness?”

The wonder if your voice had set him off again but his laughter sets you off and the two of you begin laughing in loud, carefree fits.

 

_This feels nice._

 

A pause between laughs is filled with a yawn. Today has been a mess of emotions and it’s taking its toll on you.

“getting tired kiddo?” Sans gives you what you decide is the skeleton version of a lazy smile.

“A little, sorry.” You yawn again, and totally feel bad. You were taught that it was rude to yawn while people are talking, even if it just meant you are tired _(which is totally stupid)_ but you felt bad all the same. “Today has just really been -” you exhale heavily “- it’s uh, it’s been a day, ya know?”

Sans’ glowy-pupils get a little dimmer, an expression that you don’t understand yet. “don’t apologize kid, everybody has days like that. _i_ have days like that sometimes, too.”

That makes you feel a little better. You check the time on your phone and see that maybe two hours have passed since you met up with him at the coffee shop, which means he’s been hanging out at your house, calming you down for nearly an hour and a half. An hour and a half.

 

_SHIT! I didn’t mean to be a burden in the first place! Let alone take up his whole evening! Shit Shit SHIT._

 

“I didn’t realize how late it had gotten! I’m really sorry, I hope I didn’t mess up your evening!”

Sans gives you a strange look, well as strange as it can be when he is literally a walking-talking skeleton and every expression he makes is absolutely unfamiliar to you. “kiddo, you need some sleep. this is in no way an inconvenience. i’d prefer to make sure my friends are alright then just sit around and do nothing.”

Yet again, his reassurance makes you feel better, but not completely. You jump off the couch and start rambling.  “Look, it’s pretty close to dinner time and I want to make it up to you, so if you want to stick around a little longer and have something to eat, you can. It’s just leftovers, nothing special. I mea-”

“kid, relax. i will certainly take a piece of the meat lovers pizza you have in the fridge before i leave.” Sans got up from the couch and was now stretching.

The fact that he knew what pizza you had made you a little shocked. “how did yo-”

“educated guess,” He shrugged as he cut you off again. “but you’re right, it’s getting late. you need to get some rest. it’ll help you feel better tomorrow.”

 

_Yeah… A lot of things happened today and I don’t really feel anything about them. Just kinda … empty? He’s right, this is gonna suck tomorrow._

 

You flop onto the couch in defeat. “Shit, you’re right. Tomorrow is going to suck.”

“heh, probably.” You sit up and watch him disappear into the hallway and, presumably, into the kitchen. There is the slight _swish_ sound of the fridge being opened and closed, and a moment later Sans reappears with a slice of your pizza in his still-gloved hands. Gross.

“You’re going to get that on your gloves.”

“humans eat dirt when they are babies.”

“Haha, ya got me there.” Yawning again, you give him a tired smile. Sans’ was a nice guy, for all that he could be just a hallucination. The jury was still out to lunch on whether he is actually real or not, but at least he’s nice.

You look up at Sans lazily, totally giving into how tired you are, “So why did you stick around today anyway, why were you so nice to me? You don’t even know me.”

He grins. The pizza he was holding is gone. “frisk hated being alone after a panic attack. it always helped them feel better, to be around friends...”

Your head falls back onto the couch and you lazily mumble “But you don’t know me.”

“you may not be _my_ frisk, but you’re still _a_ frisk.”

“I’m not a frisk, I’m a human.” You close your eyes and in the back of your mind, you recognize the sound of the side door opening.

“heh, sure. goodnight kiddo.”

The door shuts.

You’re out like a light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im an italics addict lmao sorry not sorry
> 
> luv my beta, luv luv luv m beta


	6. Is "Mrrp" An Accurate Description Of A Cat Noise?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey wassup this chapter has a lot of the same warnings as the last one: Self Hate and Depersonalization/Derealization  
> (the former is big in the first part and the latter in second and third parts)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> haha this is a fic about undertale i promise
> 
> yell @ me for being late w these chapters @ scary-sans.tumblr.com

It’s three in the morning and you’re having a bad time.

You are all too aware that this is way too early to be awake, yet here you are, awake.

 

_This blows._

 

Your mind has decided to pick up the slack from earlier and is now running a mile a minute.

_Yea because I wasn’t thinking at all earlier._

Not only does this mean you are now over analysing every event that happened today.

_God, I was acting like such a fucking IDIOT._

You don’t even want to broach the subject of how you probably hallucinated the whole day.

_Lmao just how fucked up am I?_

Your room is nothing but an inky blackness but you know it’s layout like the back of your hand.

_So what came first, the hallucination or the panic attack?_

Even though you can’t see them, you can tell it’s Loki sleeping by your shoulder and Azi draped across your legs.

_It’s a trick question!_

Loki breathes quietly and you can feel the slight breeze he’s making on your ear.

_Haha._

You turn your head enough to be able to see where he should be if it wasn’t so dark.

_..._

His leg twitches and he mrrps in his sleep.

_Why on Earth would I think any of the things I did earlier were appropriate._

How cute.

_Ha._

You move your leg slightly and feel Azi curl a little tighter around herself.

_I mean, who thought my entire existence would be appropriate._

Shifting some more, you lie on your back and just stare up at the ceiling.

_I want to curl up and disappear._

You know that this line of thinking was irrational.

_Forever._

No matter how much healing you had done in your life, no matter how much you had done to overcome all this _,_ days where it had complete control over you were bound to happen.

_I just can’t escape how much of a fuckup I am._

You hate it.

_I hate me._

Closing your eyes, you sigh in defeat.

 

After a quiet moment, you roll over and grab your phone from your nightstand.

It’s now three o’ five in the morning and you're having a bad time.

* * *

“mrrrp”

You wake to a calico paw on your face. “mreeow.”

_Guess someone’s hungry._

Your stomach growls.

_Suppose I am too._

Without stretching, you get up from your bed. You don’t even pause to grab your housecoat to ward off the early morning chill before heading to the kitchen. As you walk to the kitchen, Azi follows silently.

 _One of those days._  

Azi chirps at you again as you enter the room. You feed her, if only to keep her quiet. Turning back to the rest of the kitchen, you realize that you should probably eat something, anything, as well. You have no desire to eat.  In fact, if your stomach hadn't made noise to alert you, you wouldn't have even realized you were hungry. Sighing, You wander over to the pantry and open it. Nothing inside looks appetising. After a moment you grab your tea and start a pot of water to boil. Even if it wasn’t technically food, it’d fill up the space in your stomach without making you sick.

You slip a hand into your pajama-pockets only to find that you left your phone in your room. Whatever, you were only going to check what day it is. You don’t care enough to put forth the effort to go get it right now.

The kettle whistles and you pour the hot water into one of your teapots. You grab one at random, not caring which one it ends up being. Normally, you'd give a shit and use the green one because it holds the perfect amount for four mugfulls, but ...

_Yeah, one of those days._

You take a seat on the stool beside the counter and wait for the tea to finish brewing. It takes a few minutes but you don’t mind. Good tea takes a while to steep, and that’s just how life is.

 _“All the girls on the block knocking at my door.”_ A song starts playing somewhere down the hall and drags you out of your musing. _“Wanna know what it is the makes the boys want more.”_

You are not entirely sure why it started playing, but you like the song so you let it continue while you wait for your tea. You could use the tiny pick-me-up anyways. Out of habit, you start to sing along, but the voice that comes out of your mouth doesn’t feel like your own; doesn't sound like your own. 

Logically, in your head, you know that is _your_ voice, as there is no other voice it could be! But in your heart, it feels wrong. It’s too breathy, too weak, too fake.

_Just like everything else about me._

Little Mix stops playing after a few more seconds. You’d wonder at the fact that it started and stopped on its own but …

You feel like a plastic doll. Like someone picked up your conciousness and shoved it in some body that was lying around empty. It isn't quite the proper size for you. Yeah, that's what this feels like. Anyways, dealing with this is a little more important than your phone screwing up.

 _I wonder if someone would come along and move all my limbs for me. Maybe even tell me what to say. Then I'd_  really _be like a doll. Wouldn’t that make life simpler?_

You pour some tea into a random mug and add a little milk to it. Mint tea always tastes best with milk. You try not to add too much that it cools it down though, hot drinks are more grounding when you’re like this.

_Drinking something that is just below boiling is probably not safe, but, I mean, it’s better than grounding techniques I’ve used in the past. Those, well uh, those - Stop._

Even internally, you refuse to elaborate. Those bad times were in the past and that's where they are going to stay. To distract yourself, you take the first gulp of your tea. It’s hot, really hot. Perfect. You take small sip next. Delicious. Nobody else likes their tea like that, so it must be you in your body right? Not you watching someone else do things in your body, right? One mo -

Your phone starts going off again. It startles you enough that you spill some tea on yourself. _Woops._ You should be feeling some pain, but it doesn't register.

Unconsciously, however, you hold your breath.

_What?_

The song plays through to the same point and stops. If you had gotten up to check it, would it really have been you moving your legs? You down the tea that was left in your mug in one go. It helps.

This time, there is no surprize when you phone starts up again. It’s just the ringtone for Monique, you realize _._ The idea of talking to her is comforting, she’s always shown love for you no matter what. Even if Moni didn’t understand, she tries her best to comfort you when you feel like an alien in your own body. She's one of the few friends who is willing to help you so readily. 

You mechanically dash towards your room, suddenly very worried that if you don’t answer her call this time, she may not call again.

_That’s completely untrue. Monique calls at least four times before she gives up, no matter the circumstance._

That doesn’t stop you from rushing to grab your phone from your bed, however. Anxiety is terrible and irrational. You slide your finger across it to open the call, and bring it to your ear in a flash.

_“There you are, finally! Look, I know it’s pretty early in the day but do you wanna come shopping with me?”_

You kind of want too, no matter how hard it would be on your mental systems. Monique is fun and bright and she makes you feel _alive._ “Mhmm.”

_“Oh Love, did I wake you up? Sorry! But you agreed so I’ll be over in a half hour.”_

“Mm, k.”

_“Go eat something and then get in the shower okay? I’ll help you finish getting ready once I’m there.”_

“Mhm.”

 _“Later skater! Love you!”_  

Monique hangs up without saying anything else. Silently, you praise the fact that she didn’t want you to say any actual words - even just humming assent feels weird.

_notmyvoicenotmyvoicenotmyvoicenotmyvoice_

What had she asked you to do before she arrives? Eat something? Take a shower? Your stomach really doesn’t want to do the whole “eating” thing right now, besides you had that tea in you. That's good enough, right? But she had a point, a shower sounds quite nice. You drop your phone back onto your bed and turn towards the hallway. Without the (irrational) need to get from one place to another in a hurry, you begin to worry that your body might not feel like it’s yours either. Years seem to pass in the moment where you stand there trying to decide if you can make it or not.

One step. It feels fine. You wanted to take that step so you did.

Another one. You _wanted_ to take this step as well.

A third step that is entirely of your own volition and you feel confident enough to clean yourself up before Monique arrives to do whatever she had planned today.

* * *

You give Monique a stern look. You had been willing to change your top the first time. You had been complacent the second time. A third, however? That was taking it way too far.

“Look I know that you think that it’s going to be like minus thirty degrees all day today but most of it is going to be inside! You don’t need to wear that huge thing, Love!”

You shake your head at her. You are going to wear this sweater and that is final. It's your favorite, it's comforting, the stripes are in your favorite colours, and you are wearing it today.

“Alright fine, whatever, but don’t complain to me when it gets too hot for you.” Monique waves her hand at you dismissively. “Is there anything else you need before we go?”

You sort of want more tea.

“We’re going to make a pitstop and get coffee so don’t worry about that.”

That covers everything, you are good to go.

_Moni is so sweet, so caring. She knows me so well, what a great friend. Even if she can be a little flippant at times._

The both of you don your winter gear and exit your house. The cats will take care of the dog and the dog will take care of the house. They will be fine. You will be fine, too. Hell, even if you weren’t going to be fine, you’d damn well try your hardest.

_Today will be a better day._

Monique unlocks her car door and slides in wordlessly. Once you had done the same, she turns to you and replaced the excited smile she’d been wearing all morning with a serious face. “So which story would you prefer today? Lost your voice or plain shy? We can find something else if neither of those work.”

Your affection for her increased tenfold. Nobody else would have accepted the fact that you were going to be nonverbal for a day so readily. Nobody else would be so willing to cover for you either.

You try to smile at her, but your face doesn’t seem to be working.

_notmybodynotmybodynotmybody._

You hold up one finger.

“Lost voice?”

Nod.

“Alright Love, that works. So first we need to head to the floral shop on Fifth - I need to send a bouquet to my mom for her birthday; then to the supply store because I need spraypaint. Don’t ask, Love, I’m not going to say why; lastly, I need to find something to give Jay so I’m thinking that if you help me, we can say it’s from both of us, and we make sure it’s super duper great.”

You want to tell her that you already had a gift for Jay, and a backup one for her to give to him, but the moment you open your mouth,  _notmyvoicenotmyvoicenotmyvoicenotmyvoice,_  so instead you just nod. She’ll find out soon enough.

You wonder if you should do something for Monique’s mother as well. You had only met the lady a few times but she was nice enough. Anybody who put up with the handful that is Moni deserved all the kindness she could get, her own mother was no exception.

Monique starts her car and gets it back into traffic. “You don’t have to worry about getting anything for Ma, I was planning on putting your name on the flowers anyways. Well, yours and Jay’s. I already have a gift to her from just me, so the flowers are from all three of us.”

You manage to smile softly and give her a gentle pat on the shoulder. _Glorious Monique, dearest of my heart._

The rest of the ride passes smoothly, the only things worthy of remembering are a pit stop for coffee and a silent argument over which radio station to listen too. When the two of you have finally made your way to the first stop on today’s adventure, you are in a much better mood, even if you're still unable to verbally converse.

_Friends can do that, good thing I have some of those._

Just as the song that had been playing ends, Monique parks the car in front of your first destination and practically jumps out with enthusiasm. You follow shortly after, in a much calmer fashion.

“Hey, so what flowers do you think should go in it? It’s technically from you and Jay as well, so you should have input.” She grins at you and holds the shop door open. After a moment’s pause, you let her guide you into the store.

It’s a small store on the outside yes, but inside it is even more so. You can tell that this isn’t an endeavour for profit, the owners here must treat it as a labour of love. All the shelves are packed with plants. Some, near the back are just little sprouts, while the ones near the front are big and blooming, all looking to be in excellent shape. The front counter is decorated with succulents such as hen-and-chicks and agave. There is an air of comfort throughout the store and the sent of wet dirt makes it feel like home.

_It’s lovely._

Monique leads you to the section of the store where they handle bouquets and the beauty of it floors you once again. There are so many colours, so many shapes, you want to settle down and live in this exact moment forever.

_It’s just so …_

“... pretty.”

“Hm? Yea, it is really pretty.” Monique gives you a little hip bump and gestures to the flowers. “So which should we use?”

You lean in closer to a few containers to see what is in them and try to remember what you can from that one time you read through the flower meaning dictionary.

There had been a few long nights where you would suddenly find yourself hundreds of definitions farther in than you wanted to be and up way later than you had planned. It had actually happened quite often when you were much younger.

 After pausing to think, you pointed at the bellflowers, which you are pretty sure means gratitude, and the pink roses. The darker ones mean thankfulness if you remember correctly  _(it's different from gratitude! shush!!)_ , and finally to the daylilies because you seem to remember they have something to do with mothers. You think. Maybe 88% sure. Whatever, Moni’s mom would enjoy that her child’s best friends sent her flowers and probably not look into it any further anyways. Most people aren't as much of a stickler for meaning as you.

You turn to Monique to make sure she knew which ones you picked before zoning out and wandering the store.

_It’s just really really beautiful in here._

Throughout the aisles there are a lot of things that catch your eye, but nothing draws you to it like this little pot of buttercups. Or rather, nothing pushes yourself away from it like the buttercups. You have no idea why, but just looking at them you want to cry from loneliness, frustration, and a sad sort of pride. The feeling of wrong is back in full force.

_notmyvoicenotmyvoicenotmybodynotmylifenotmyvoice_

You want to get closer to the little yellow flowers in case mere proximity could give you any clues to why they make you feel so sick, but you aren’t determined enough. Not that you really had a chance however because just then Monique came bounding down the aisle saying that she had set everything up and that it is time to go the next place and yes! You do need to go, right now! If you really want, she’ll take you back here later but you are on a very tight schedule so you really have to go!

Sighing, you follow her down and out to the parking lot and the cold. 

* * *

You turn down another aisle and huff at the idea of Monique. “A secret,” she says, “Can’t ruin the surprise,” she says.

 _WELL. I hope I get lost and then she has to spend hours looking for me._ _  
_ _…  
_ _Actually I don’t. That would require being here for hours. I’d much rather go home and watch T.V. and pet my cats._

To pass the time, you had begun to wander the art supply store looking for something to catch your eyes. You needed some inspiration for your next personal project anyways, what better place to find it than here right? The last one had been an oil painting, maybe you could try something with multimedia? Multimedia, that had sounded fun. But without any direction other than ‘multimedia’, you have no idea what to look at. No end point and no start point. You are seriously bored. Aimlessly, you wander through a few more aisles. Nothing catches your eye, unfortunately. Sighing in defeat, you pull out your phone and text Moni.

 

  -got bored, @ bookstore next door

 

She doesn’t respond right away, leaving you nothing to do but sigh and make good on your text by going outside. Even if you are only going to be outdoors for a few moments, you reposition your hat and zip your coat. It’s _really_ cold out there.

You take a deep breath, say a fond, silent farewell to the warmth and walk out of the store … right into a familiar face. The impact doesn’t knock you over, thank god, but the suddenness of it makes you squeak. Not scream. Just squeak. _Thank god.  
_

“you alright there kiddo? can't have you falling for me already.” Just your fucking luck too.

You make sure your feet are firmly on the ground before looking at Sans. Who is also looking directly at you, what a nice change. With your limited familiarity to skulls, you can’t really tell what expression he is trying to give you, but you practically taste the shit-eating pride he is exuding from that pun. You give him a smile and a thumbs up. _I’m fine, no worries!  
_

Sans’ face quirks a little. You can’t tell if it’s because he didn’t understand your response or if he’s upset because you didn’t respond verbally. “you feeling alright there kid?”

Again all you can do is nod and smile. You really were feeling better, even if you had to contend with _notmyvoicenotmyvioce_ all day long. Hopefully, he understands.

“yesterday must’ve hit you harder than i thought, huh.”

You nod - and are almost knocked over again.

Monique pulls the both you back into an upright position but keeps the arms she had thrown around you right where they are. “I’m so sorry, Love! I didn’t want to take to long, but I’m not letting you spoil your own surprize!”

You untangle yourself from her and give her a pointed glare. _I already know you're making something for me, and you can’t make very many things Moni.  
_

“Oh, you shush with that. A half surprize is better than no surprize and you’ll just have to deal with it.” Monique singsongs at you before walking away towards the parking lot. _She_ apparently could understand you with just a simple look. You wonder if she had noticed Sans beside you, who is conviently hiding himself from her very uncaring gaze. Typical, but it isn't like you can blame him.

Sans comes to stand beside you and half-whispers to you behind his gloved hand while watching Moni go.“is that one of your friends?”

You hum your assent, also watching her leave.

“are you going to go after her?”

You’re still watching her skip her way through the parking lot but you nod. _She’s my ride, can’t go anywhere without her.  
_

“hey kid,” You turn and see Sans looking at you intently, “you wanna hear the rest of what i have to say sometime?”

You smile and nod. _I’d love to hear it!_ Still smiling, you bring your hand to your face to fake a cellphone. _I’ll call you!  
_

Sans’ eye sockets squish a little, you recognize it as a ‘happy expression’ “so it’s a date.”

You look back at Monique and see that she’s finally at the car. “Come on! We gotta go! Places to be, Love!”

“better get going kid, you’ll be chilled to the _bone_ if you stick around here.” He winks at you and pulls a glove off his hand, which he waves lazily at you. _Bone hand_. You stare, rather rudely, at it.

“Hey! I’m serious! Let's go!!”

Monique’s yelling breaks your trance and you go off running after her. After you get about halfway to her, you realize you didn’t even say goodbye to Sans.

You turn around to wave but find that he’s no longer there. _Weird._ You can’t dwell on it though because Monique is calling for you again.

_Places to be. Right._

You decide to ask him about it when you call him. Later, though. 

_I've got places to be._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Black magic by little mix is my jam so, by proxy, its your jam as well. Your welcome.
> 
> On christmas y'all get a special gift. No spoilers.


	7. No, You Can't Explain Space/Time To Me Until I've Had A Cup Of Tea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> merry chrism u heathen skelefuckers.
> 
> also hey, i added it to the tags but there will b no explicit smut in this fic. i can rec some 2 u if u want, but u'll find none here

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> my fave section ive ever written ever in anything is in this chapter

You sigh and start shaking out your wrist, which had begun to cramp. Sometimes you curse your artistic passion for what it does to you body.  

 _“Art is pain, that’s why it’s called a_ pain _ting.”_ He’d say, and you’d groan. Or giggle. Or maybe even some ungodly combination of the two. “ _Get it?_ Pain- _ting?”_ You laugh to yourself, that pun has been traded back and forth more times than you can count but it still hasn't lost its charm _._

The house around you is quiet, but comfortable. No one is home but you and the animals and they are all asleep somewhere else in the house. It’s time for a break, you decide and pull yourself up from the heap of blankets you have in the corner of your room. It probably wasn’t the cleanest place to keep them, but it was certainly the most comfortable. You grab your phone from the spot on your bedside table where you had left it to charge and head to the kitchen.

Break time is snack time.

The fridge beckons with promises of the leftover pie you haven’t eaten yet. Thank god you didn’t mind your pie cold, there was no way you could put for the effort to heat it up. _Not worth it._ You pull out a piece, take a seat at the kitchen table, and absentmindedly check your phone. It dawns on you that you still haven’t texted Sans yet. It’s been a day, maybe even two since you had run into him. You curse your faulty memory and decide to rectify it immediately.

 

  -r u free this weekend?

 

You wonder how he is even able to use a phone when he’s got bone hands. _Bones don’t conduct heat._ But then you remember that you've literally seen him use a smartphone before and decide that it doesn't matter too much.

 

  *depends on what you need me for.

  -i was just wondering if u wanted 2 get coffee

  *i honestly can’t _tea_ you drinking coffee.

  -did u just text me italics  
  -how did u do that  
  -????

  *anyway i should be free sunday afternoon.

  -sunday works 4 me  
  -still wanna no how u did that tho

  *meet you at the cafe around 2:00?

  -i’ll b there

 

You close your phone down and go back to being bored. Today is Thursday, or Friday maybe? You are not sure, you've never been the best with days. You do know for a fact, however, that today is not Sunday so you will have to wait to hear more of Sans’ story. Which is _fine,_ it’s his story and he has no obligation to share it with you in the first place. But, it had been really interesting, and he told it with such a passion you felt drawn to it. _Him too, probably._

 _Is it weird that I feel so close to someone I haven’t known for long?  
__Nah._  

You decide to blame it on how you see the best in people and want to be friends with, generally, everybody. Well, people other than yourself. Whatever, doesn’t matter. Sans was going to go get coffee with you on Sunday and you could hear the rest of it then. It’ll be a good day. You’re determined to have a good day. That day and today. Every day in between too, and even if it didn’t work out, well, _I’ll have tried my best and that’s all that matters._

Balancing your phone in one hand with a bite of pie in the other, you set an alarm for Sunday. It's better to be prepared, right?

* * *

The alarm you had set for yourself goes off while you are riding the LRT. Normally this wouldn’t have a been a problem, you’d just shut it off and be slightly embarrassed but let it go, this time, however, was very different. It turns out, your phone had woken the sleeping child of the woman sitting across from you. _Woops._ The child had started crying _(double woops)_ and the mother was now trying to balance her time with calming her baby, and glaring at you.  _Triple_ _woops._ You do your best to ignore her, but fail miserably. Sullenly, you pull out your phone to mess around with some games instead of focusing on your angry train-partner.

_All this could have been avoided if I had just waited a bit longer at home, like a normal person._

You had finished your daily duties early and had become this awful mix of bored and excited that spurred you out of the house much too early. So, you had left early and planned on finding things in the busier downtown area to take up the extra time until you were supposed to meet up with Sans. But now, you are here stuck on on the LRT with an angry woman and a screaming tiny child. You sigh and resign yourself to your fate.

You sit there, silent and shrunk in on yourself for nearly ten minutes before the blessed station comes up. Pure relief floods your veins when you step off and work your way back to the city street. It’s only about 1:30 now, you've still got a fair amount of time before you can head to the cafe without feeling weird. With that in mind, you turn the opposite way and start examining the store windows as you pass. Most have put up festive decorations for Christmas and New Years that look both exspensive and beautiful. As you go, your focus goes back and forth between the small crowd around you and the stores you pass. Everyone seems to be in such good moods, and it looks so lovely out. Today is a good day, you decide. 

_I feel warm._

Not _actually_ warm. It’s honestly super fucking cold right now, but you feel content. 

 _It’s basically the same thing._  

You check the time on your phone - 1:45 - and decide that it is now socially acceptable to head to the cafe. While wandering the downtown you had gotten a little farther than you expected and you make it to the cafe at two oclock exactly. As you push the door open, real warmth hits you. The good feeling of today hasn't left you though, which is nice. You look around the cafe and notice Sans already seated near the corner, with a pair of drinks in front of him. There is an unmistakable bounce in your step as you walk up to the booth he's sitting in.

“Hey, Sans!” Your good mood seeps into your words. “How are you?”

“hey kid. i’m doing pretty good. you?” Sans holds up one of the drinks to you. “careful, it’s hot.”

You smile and take a seat, carefully holding the admittedly hot drink. “I’m doing much better, thanks!” You really are and hope that he understands. There are a few more minutes of idle chitchat before Sans decides to get down to business.

“are you ready to hear more of what happened to frisk?”

You nod excitedly and go to take a sip of your tea before remembering that it is probably too hot for even your tastes. You catch it in time though, and place it to the side before turning to Sans expectantly.

“do you remember what part i had gotten to? i don’t want to accidentally skip anything.”

“Frisk had just met you and your brother, but you didn’t go into much detail.”

Sans’ expression begins to mirror your own, this was obviously one of his favorite parts. “right, right, okay. so frisk had just met me, outside one of my sentry stations to watch for any humans that had fallen. we were waiting around for papyrus. well, i was at least - frisk was just going along with everything i did. now my brother, he was a human hunting fanatic. harmless, but that didn’t change the fact that if frisk had found pap first, they would probably have been on a much shorter journey." Sans stops as a shiver travels down his spine, leaving you to wonder what about that made him so unsettled. "anyways, i got to stage the perfect, peacful meeting between the two. after they managed to make their way through a few of papyrus’ puzzles and spend a while hanging out, frisk had wormed their way into a friendship with paps and i. even back then, they had a penchant for puns. i can’t even begin to describe how much fun it is to annoy my brother with 'em, and having another person to help only made it that much better.” Sans continues to recount the adventures of Frisk and how they basically became friends with everyone. He keeps going through all of Snowdin and then almost all of Waterfall. You particularly enjoy his retelling of Frisk’s ‘playdate’ with Undyne that ended in a burnt down house.

How someone apparently so young managed to do all this cool and respectable stuff is beyond you, but it sounds like a damn good time. 

You quietly wonder how much of it is true, and how much he had just embellished to make it a better story, but you don’t ask. Sans avoided explaining things to you in great depth however, saying that he would do it later. You had been told that Undyne was collecting human souls, but you hadn’t been told why, only that he’d get to it later. Sans starts talking again and pulls you out of your thoughts.

“pap was in the middle of calling me to say that he was sure he had figured out a way to make undyne friends with frisk, but he was going to stick around longer to make sure nothing went wrong when he suddenly hung up on me. i was so worried because he _never_ does that unless something is seriously up, but he called me back right away. now, you can imagine my surprise when he says that undyne is going to come stay with us for a while. it took a few minutes but i finally got him to tell me what happened and,” Sans pauses to collect himself before “SANS I PROMISE NOBODY IS HURT BUT … THE HUMAN AND UNDYNE, MAY HAVE POSSIBLY, ACCIDENTALLY SET HER HOUSE ON FIRE. IS IT ALRIGHT IF SHE STAYS WITH US FOR A WHILE, SANS? PRETTY PRETTY PLEASE?”

You have no idea what to say to that. You can tell that it is an impression of his brother, but you have absolutely no idea how accurate it is. It is, however, unbelievably hilarious. Sans is the first to start laughing at it, and several minutes later, you are the last one to stop. After you two have quieted down, you realize that you have been here for such a long time just talking, that your tea has gone cold.

_Woops. I wonder if they would heat it up for me?_

Before you were able to get up and ask however, Sans began to talk again. “i think thats all the time we have today to gush over my amazing and caring brother.” (there is no way that Papyrus is anything but amazing and caring, even if he sounds a _bit_ hectic) “so before i get to the next part there are a few things i need to explain to you. actually there are more than a few.”

You can only nod in agreement, as he lost any hint of joy in his face (that he was still keeping mostly hidden, probably because you are in public right now) and you didn’t think this next bit was too happy.

“i uh, i guess i’ll start by explaining the hardest part first. what do you know about space/time? like timelines and stuff?”

You don’t have anything to say to that. It’s not like you can call bullshit on him, he’s a walking talking skeleton. You lost all rights to calling bullshit the minute you accepted that fact (which you now realize you have accepted). It doesn’t, however, bar you from needing a good strong drink before you can have this conversation.

“What kind of ‘space/time’ are we talking about here? Like Back to the Future or more like X-Men Multiverse?”

“mmmmmmm, the x-men one is closest, i guess. but that’s still pretty far off. i might as well just start from scratch.”

You sigh and begin to stand up. “In that case, no. No nono no. No no. nonono no.” and begin to walk backwards towards the cafe’s front counter, never breaking eye contact with Sans. “No no no, no nonon no. Not before I have caffeine in me.” and with that you turn to the barista and ask them if they would be able to reheat your drink. They happily comply, and make some comment about how you never bring that cute boy in with you anymore, they had really been looking forward to seeing him again. You laugh and promise to bring him _(Jay, i fucking told u the barista was into u)_ sometime next week. When your drink is returned to you and you sit in front of Sans again, he starts talking immediately.

“so are yo-” But you hold up one finger to his face and make a show of taking the first drink of your tea. You sneak a sidelong glance at Sans, who looks somewhere caught between shocked and delighted. It eggs you on a little, but you don't have anything else planned. With nothing else to do, you just chug the tea.

“Now I’m ready” You slam your now empty cup, and revel in the expression Sans is wearing. You only get a moment however, before he bursts out laughing at your shenanigans.

_Thank god. A serious expression looks so unnatural on his face. Skulls like his are not meant to look so … hard._

_Does that count as a bone pun?_  

It takes him a few moments to calm down, (long enough for you to decide that you love the sound of his laugh) and he starts again. “i can _tea_ that you are ready, so i’m going to get started.

“I can’t garun _tea_ that I’m going to understand it all, but go ahead.”

Sans gives a thankful look at you for attempting to lighten the mood, but the serious expression is back. You get the feeling there won't be any more jokes for a while. “space/time and everything that happens in between is part of the basis for the universe, probably.”

You nod, he hasn’t lost you yet. 

 _I mean, he’s only said a single sentence, but good start and all that._  

Sans pulls a notebook and pen from … well, from thin air honestly, and flips it open to a random page. He turns the book sideways in front of you - _hotdog ways_ , you suddenly remember your kindergarten teacher calling it - and draws two vertical lines, about an inch from the ends of the page on each side.

“this is how time normally goes, or normally should go.” Sans draws the pen across the page horizontally but doesn’t it actually touch the paper.

“time is always going from ‘point a’ ” He makes a little circle on one of the vertical lines “to ‘point b’, ” and makes another on the second line. “but it doesn’t work like that as it is happening, only when you are looking back on it.” Sans draws two more little circles on the second line. “in reality, there are many more ways that time can go, and we are only aware of the way it went for us, in _our_ here and now.”

It is still making sense to you, thankfully, but you silently wish that you had more tea.

Sans begins to make more lines on the page, the first going from ‘Point A’ to the end of the page closest to it, and similar ones for ‘Point B’ and the other two circles on that line. Next he connects ‘Point A’ to the other three points. “if you were standing at ‘point a’, what do you think would be the reason you might end up and ‘point b’ instead of one of the other two, ‘c’ or ‘d’?”

“I make a choice? In each timeline, I make a different one, right?” You are pretty sure that you understand, but are glad that he’s taking the time to check.

“right, in each of these timelines, you would have made a different choice. but, people make a lot of choices in their day. red shirt or blue shirt; cheerios or frosted flakes; that sort of thing.” He draws your attention back to the paper, and over the line from ‘A’ to ‘B’, he draws a few other lighter lines, purposefully making them not line up exactly but still follow the same path. “sometimes they are small choices that don’t change anything in the big picture, but sometimes they change everything.”

As you watch, Sans makes another small circle, about halfway between "A" and "B" and pulls it directly across to the second line. This is a totally new path, a desicion that changed how that timeline went completely.

_Some things are small and don’t matter in the grand scheme, and others do. That’s how life goes._

“Is there any way to tell what choices will make time, uh, diverge like that?” Diverge seems like a good word to put there, you think.  
Sans gives you a soft _look_  before he answers, and you think it means that he is happy that you are interested enough to ask questions.“well, things like ‘should i pursue a career in this field or that one’ is usually big enough, but there is no real way to tell.”

“Oh, okay.” That makes sense, you suppose.

“aight so this next bit is a little weird.” You are excited. Everything about this was weird too you, what counts as weird to him? “there are these things that basically fuck with time as we know it. saves; loads; and resets.”

You can’t help but butt in. “Like video games?”

As you watch, Sans’ eye sockets change their shape to look annoyed and his mouth looks more and more like a frown. You instantly feel bad, _(shit shit shit sh i t shti fuck woops)_ beacuse from that look, you can tell that you offended him. “look, the mechanics are similar, but those are fake and this is real life.”

You draw back into yourself and nod. If this had been happening in the comfort of your own home, you’d have drawn your legs up to yourself and looked vaguely like a turtle. The atmosphere changes around you, and you doubly regret saying anything. “O-okay.”

“saves are just what the name says. they save your point in space/time.” He motions to the point he made in the line ‘AB’. “now loads, they bring you back to a save. if you saved here, and kept going in time, but then loaded, it would bring you back to this point.” Sans’ expression shifts from annoyed to … something else. It isn’t something good. “resets will bring you back to the beginning.”

“The beginning? Would a reset bring someone back to the very beginning of like, everything?”  Your voice feels weak, you know it's because of the sudden change in everything. It had all been going so well but ... You also know that you are probably going to be on eggshells around him for at least a week.

 _There goes that friendship. Should’ve just kept my fucking mouth shut._  

Sans doesn’t even seem to notice the change in your demeanor. “it can. resets are fickle, sometimes they only go back to the beginning of whatever ‘adventure’ you are on, or it could take you back to the beginning of your life, or i guess they could bring you back to the beginning of everything.” He spat the word adventure like it was poison, but he spoke the rest like a bored school teacher.

A silence passes between you two like a ravine. You want to go home, it had all been going so well. Why had you ruined such a good day? You manage another look to Sans and see such intensity that you know you won't be able to just leave. This is much to serious for you to just bail, apparently.

_Nice. Nice. NiceNiceNiceNice. Nice._

You get up and order another thing of tea. A moment to clear your head and another drink won't be enough to calm your head but it is enough to bring you back to a place where you can keep listening. When you return to your seat, you start drinking it almost immediately. _Hot._ The first gulp of perhaps a bit too heated tea has just gone down your throat before Sans starts talking again.

“frisk had the power to reset. most people can’t, they just aren’t determined enough, but frisk could do the whole shebang. at first they only loaded a save after something had gone wrong, but then things started to go wrong on a much bigger level. they were just a kid, they couldn't handle a lot of things the underground would throw at them until they had seen it a few times at least.  
“do you remember what i said about the barrier? we had no way to get through it, our souls are not strong enough to pass through magic like that. but human souls, human souls are strong. if a monster had a human soul within them, they could pass through the barrier, but if the had _seven,_ they were practically a god, strong enough to break it." He pauses for a moment and looks at his hands. "we had six.”

You don’t understand. Souls, as far as you knew, are these incorporeal like wispy manifestations of your consciousness, or something. Not a thing that could be collected.

“alphys -" You remember that she was the scientist. "- never liked the idea of using souls. to get access to a soul for longer than a simple fight, you’d have to take it, and when you took it, you killed the person. or their body, at least. technically, a person still exists in some way inside their soul. anyways, alphys was looking for alternate ways to get through the barrier. everybody knew this, and before they even met her, frisk knew it too. one of the things alphys was researching was human determination, ya know, the stuff that let frisk fuck with time? absurd timewarping, fucking-with-reality determination. that stuff. anyways, alphys didn’t know about what it could do to the space/time collective, but she did learn that monsters can’t have very much of it.  
“she was working on an experiment, one that could save monsters who were at such a low hope level that they could die. it was a success, at first. the monsters were back in working order and just about to be sent home, when things started going wrong.”

You have no idea what this has to do with Frisk’s apparent ability to change the course of time itself, but you don’t say anything.

“the amount of determination in their systems was interfering with the flow of magic in their bodies, and causing their dust to ‘melt’. it was awful, some monsters who were too close to others melted into each other.”

You’re feeling a little sick after hearing that, but this feels like an important thing, so you decide to power through it. You do, however, take another large gulp of tea to steady and ground yourself.

“none of us blamed alphys, she was just doing her job, trying to save people. after the failure of monsters and determination, she tried injecting it into other things. not monsters, but things that are alive. the first was a flower. that ended up being a failure too, not for her lack of trying, the flower just hates us.  
“the first time frisk found alphys’ true lab, they were terrified. they had almost made it through the whole thing when they reset. they were so scared, so alone, all they wanted was to see tori again, and that reset it. that time was an accident, but something else wanted to take advantage of how vulnerable frisk was in those few moments. it promised guidance, it promised safety, it promised a way out of the underground. frisk didn’t what the actual cost would be until too late. the thing took control of them and killed every living thing in the underground.  
 “i’m getting carried away here, though, this isn’t what i meant to talk about at all.”

You squeak a little. Sans got carried away and ended up talking about an apparent genicide of everyone in the Undergound? How does one even get carried away enough to talk about that? That's terrifying, you'd rather forget it than bring it up in conversation. When you look back to Sans, there's something apologetic about the way he's holding himself.  _Good._

“hey kiddo, why do you think there are no monsters around right now?” You have no idea what he’s talking about, so you don’t say anything. This is a very sudden shift in conversation. “i'm pretty sure i know."

 _"So tell me!"_ You want to shout to him. This whole conversation was only causing more and more questions, not answering them. You just want to understand! "they aren’t out of the underground in this timeline - and i think i know why.”

You suddenly feel very much like you are in over your head. This whole thing, all of it was way too much for you, the barely a legal adult human with nothing to do with any of this. You chug the last half of your tea, but without any of the previous bravado.

“frisk never went down there, so they never got out. wanna know why?”

_You’re going to tell me no matter what I say, so sure why not. Lemme hear it. It's not like it affects me in any real way._

“you’re this timeline’s frisk.” That ... would affect you. At the same time, though ...

 _How would_ he _know?_

“ How would _you_ know? How are you even here anyways, you _literally_ just said the monsters never got out in this timeline.”

“because i’m not this timeline’s sans.” He looks smug. Like this was the sudden twist of a story he had written.

“Oh.” You reach across the table and take his cup of tea that had never been drunk. There is no hesitation before you down the whole thing. You wince as you set it down. “That was gross, you let your tea go completely cold.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tell me all about ur gifts @ scary-sans.tumblr.com
> 
> also tell my beta how they r beautiful and great (bc they worked extra hard 2 finish this for today) @ paraducksspace.tumblr.com


	8. You Realize that You Don't Know Anything

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things happen. This probably counts as plot but ends as fluff lmao
> 
> I'm posting this off my phone Happy New Years ✨✨

You know a few things for certain right now.  
  1. The tea you just drank was _disgusting_.  
  2. You’re probably going to be a little jumpy around Sans for a while.  
  3. He’s out of his goddamned mind.

“okay, so i want to clarify my previous statement.”

You stare at him blankly. Some clarification would really be nice.

“what i meant was. i think that there was a choice made, in this timeline, long enough ago that it totally changed what would happen in your life. in most versions of this timeline, in most parts of space/time, you don’t become _you_ , you'd become frisk.”

“... That makes sense I guess.” You’re not happy that it makes sense. You _had_ been perfectly happy being the friend of someone who knew and was a part of weird ass shit, but now you get to be a _part_ of the weird ass shit? You just want to go home and pet your cats. “Wait, if this isn’t your timeline, how did you get here? How are going to get back?”

Sans sighs and gets up, making you flinch. “shortcut within a shortcut.”

“What?” As you watch, Sans reaches a gloved hand out towards you. You have no idea what to do with it.

“im not gonna bite, kiddo. i need your help to get me back home, so i figure i need to be honest with you to get that help.” That makes sense. You are not happy that it makes sense, because it means getting even more caught up in this weird ass shit.

 _But … Sans is a generally good guy, who doesn’t deserve to be stuck here._  
_Nobody deserves that, so I guess…  
_ _I guess I’m going to help him._

It strikes you that if you _really_ are this timeline's version of Frisk, and you never made it into the Underground, everybody is still down there. That makes you sick. You had one job, in all of time and space, and you fucked it up.

_I’m going to help them, too._

Sans is still waiting in front of you, hand outstretched. You take it, a new feeling of determination surging through you. He leads you outside (which is rude, you had _no_ warning, like jeez, cmon, your jacket isn’t even zipped closed) and takes you over to the doorway of the store beside the cafe. It’s closed, you notice, probably for the holidays. As you get closer to the door however, you begin to feel a ‘pull’ on you.

 _Feels kinda like when you’re at the top of a rollercoaster, but without the wind and vertigo. And it doesn’t feel like it’s pulling on my stomach?_  
_?????????????????????_  
_Weird._

You wonder how many times you’ve thought “weird” when it has something to do with Sans. _Or is he Alternate Sans, because he isn’t the one from this timeline?_

“Hey would you be Alternate Sans or just Sans?” You laugh nervously in your head, or maybe out loud. Who knows. You certainly don’t.

Sans turns away from the doorway to look at you. “naw, just sans is fine. that’s me, mr. just sans. mr. just sans snowdin.” He starts feeling the air _(what?)_ around the door for something.

“Wait … wasn’t Snowdin the name of one of the places in the Underground?” You pull yourself out of Sans’ weak grasp and start playing with your hands.

He stops whatever it is that he is doing and turns to you. “yea, it is. but some of us monsters don’t have last names, so we just took whatever would stick. besides, i like having a pun in my name. oh! hey i found it, are you ready to go?”

“Found what?” _Weird. weirdweirdweirdweird._

“the shortcut. i’ll uh, explain what i know about how they work later. are you ready to go?”

You decide to trust him, in this moment, and grab his hand (which was not outstretched. You’ll be embarrassed later, you’re sure.) It’s boney, and limp when you first take hold, but then Sans grips your hand, in a comforting way.

“I swear to god, if you ask ‘Do you trust me?’ I’m going to leave and never come back.” You say with mock seriousness. Or maybe real with seriousness, who knows? All you really know is that quote sucks.

“heh, wouldn’t dream of it, i was just gonna tell you to keep your eyes open, the nausea hits worse if they are closed.”

“ _Eye_ see.” You _expertly_ dramatise a wink at him. You're a little jumpy still, but it seems to be getting back to the good thing it was earlier. “Well, let’s get it over with huh?”

Sans gently squeezes your hand again and begins to walk through … nothing? He’s there one moment, and then he’s not, mostly. His arm is still visible, and attached to yours. “well? are you coming or not?”

You do as he had done, and just walk into the doorway, it takes a moment and then it looks like you are in some sort of void. A tunnel of void, with places at each end. One side is the street you were just on, and the other is what looks like the dog park a few blocks away from your house. The ‘pull’ you had been feeling intensifies and then suddenly vanishes. You were about to ask both  _what_ and _how_ the fuck when, as Sans had offhandedly warned, a wave of nausea replaces it. 

_Oh my GOD._

You instantly want to throw up - and cuss Sans out. He really did nothing to prepare you. That ass. Do skeletons even have asses?

“hah yea, it isn’t a _queasy_ way to travel.”

“That’s a fucking shitty pun, you ass.” You keep walking in the literal nothingness towards the other side. Too distracted by how bad of a joke that was, how sick you feel, and how seriously fucking confused about where you are, you overtake Sans and become the one tugging on _his_ arm to pick up the pace. “I want out of the nothingness. Let’s go, bone boy.”

It’s only twenty steps from one end to the other, but it’s twenty steps too many. Once you make it out, you notice that you were right, it is the park near your house - one of the wooded path sections. Your feeling of nausea begins to fade. “How?”

Sans lets go of your hand, _(woops, I was still holding that.)_ and pulls off one of his gloves. Through sheer willpower, you stop yourself from staring at it and instead focus both on what he does with the glove and not spilling your guts.

“this is where we are right now, and this is where we just were.” Sand first points out the end of the pinkie finger and then at the end of the thumb. “normally, they are distant from each other. what the shortcuts do is bring them together.” He brings them together so they are touching.

You don’t get it.

“I don’t get it.”

Sans sighs and then puts his glove back on. “that’s fine, nobody can understand everything, ‘specially not in one day.”

“How do you find these ‘shortcuts’? Do they always go to the same place?” The suddenness of the cold shocks the last of the illness out of you - the void hadn’t been cold. It had just been nothing.

_It had been strange._

“did you feel a pull before you got into it?” Sans starts walking towards one of the paths in the mini forest section. After a moment he turns to make sure you’re following him and then keeps going.

“Yeah, I was going to ask what that was.” _Or what any of this is. What is this, Sans, what is this._

“that was your soul being pulled towards the rip in space/time. because it’s a part of my magic, i can feel it a lot stronger from farther away.” It takes a moment, but you realize that Sans is leading you further into this part of the park.

“Soul. Yeah. Okay so can you explain that to me? As far as I know, souls are not physical, I mean, aren’t they just spiritual bullshit?”

Sans pushes his hood back and unzips the very top of it so that his head is free. “heh, no. souls are very real.” He stops walking and turns to you with an easy grin. “wanna see yours?”

You do.

“I do.”

You don’t.

“Show me please?”

You really want to just go home.

“sure kid. this is going to feel weird, okay?”

But it all comes back to the fact that you want to help him.

“Weird? This whole thing has been weird.”

And because you’re determined to do that,

“ya got me there.”

You do.

“Let’s do it.”

That tugging feeling is back and as it comes to ahead, you hear a slight pop. In front of you, Sans has one hand in his pocket and the other out in front of him doing something that reminds you of Darth Vader using the force. 

_Inappropriate comparison, stay focused on the matter at hand._

Even though it’s the middle of the day, the tree canopy above the you blocks out a fair amount of light. As soon as you hear the ‘pop’, there is a slight red glow that lights up the place. You begin to look around for the source and find it a few inches in front of your chest.

A red heart - stylized and cartoonish, pulsing slightly, and completely solid looking - floats in front of you. The soft light it gives off feels warm. You look away from it to ask Sans about it and instead watch his expressions.

First his expression is one of small pupils and a slack mouth: shock. It slowly shifts into normal pupils, an easy smile, and a slight exhale: happiness/relief. Finally, it becomes squashed eye sockets; raised browbone _(or would it just be eyebrow?)_ , with a hard smile: ??????/smug.

In the quiet you hear Sans mumble something about ‘being right’ under his breath.

“Hey, yo, Sans. What was that? I couldn’t hear you over how freakin confused I am about this!” You point excitedly at the heart. _Or I guess this is a soul? My soul?_

“that’s your soul, kiddo. it’s red.”

“I can see that!” You raise your hand to poke it but at the last moment, pull away.

“most souls are not red.”

You squeak out a sound of confusion and raise your hands, indicating for Sans to continue. _?????_

“it just confirms that you’re this timeline’s frisk.”

You squeak again. **_????????_**

“heh yeah, sorry. good thing i was right huh?”

“Yeah, good, okay." He said that with such certainty, and he wasn't even sure? "Can you explain it to me now?”

“that’s your soul. it’s the very culmination of your being. it starts off weak, but it gain grow strong if you raise your **Level of Violence** , or **LV** for short. you do that using **Exp** or **Execution Points**.”

“Oh.” You shuffle a few steps to the right and the heart moves as well.

“its got a different health level than you, based on your **Hope** levels, called **HP** for short.”

“I don’t have much of that,” you mutter quietly. As cool as it is to see your _soul_ , all these terms are beginning to sound rather depressing. **Level of Violence**?  **Execution Points**? You get the feeling you don't want anything to do with those things. You dance around for a few steps to see how the light your soul is giving off changes the look of your surroundings. “Why is it red?”

“all human souls have a colour, and it relates to the person’s most prominent quality. red is determination, light blue is patience, green is kindness, orange is bravery and so on.”

You don’t feel very determined. You don’t feel much of anything. In fact, even with the warm glow of your soul, you’re beginning to feel chilled to the bone. “How does being violent make a person’s soul stronger?”

He shrugs casually, but his perma-grin looks forced. “it doesn’t, not really. just gives your soul a thicker skin, boosts your attack - it puts up a wall between you and your feelings that makes it easier to be violent.

“i’d prefer weakness over any strength if that’s what it does.” You ‘grab’ your soul and bring it up to your face to inspect it better. While you’re focusing on it, it begins to fade away.

_Uhm?_

Before you could freak out about it fading away, you notice you feel _fuller_. You recognize that as your soul returning to it’s place in your body. It doesn’t change the fact that the cold is now really getting to you - and all other feeling is beginning to fade. The telltale mark of anxiety creeping up on you.

“Okay, show and tell has been fun, but it’s time to go home, it’s freezing. You coming?” You turn back towards the path out and take a few steps before waiting for him to follow. “So is this how you ended up by my house the day Dog got out?”

“dog?” You can hear Sans pulling his hood back up.

Exiting the wooded section of the park, you notice very few people around. _Too cold for them, probably._ “Yeah, Dog the dog. I didn't name him, one of my uncles did.”

You give a sidelong glance before continuing. “If I had, it’d be something like ‘Annoying’, or ‘A.D.’ for “Annoying Dog’, or ‘Baelfest, Devourer of shoes’.”

Sans snickers lightly before asking about the uncle that named Dog.

“He works in the oilfield,” You tell Sans, “and isn’t home often. So in exchange for doing house upkeep and taking care of his bratty dog, I get to stay without paying rent. I still feel like I’m mooching off him sometimes, but before I moved to the city for school he only spent his money on Dog, hockey, and beer. I think that he feels like he has to take care of me, which is dumb, but it gives him purpose.”

After the bit of sharing time, including how the other works overseas and is only 'home' once per year, the two of you trade jokes and generally have a decent walk back to your house. The anxious feeling fades over the time it takes you to get back, _thank god._ Once you get there, you invite him inside. There had been some generally upsetting topics today and you wanted to unwind, he probably would too.

“Dog!” You call, “Cmon buddy! I’ve got someone for you to meet!” If you can control Dog, he should be nice to Sans (and not steal vital bones) and everything will be good in your home.

Speaking of Sans, he’s standing just outside the door while you are on the inside prepping for the arrival. “you don’t have to do this, ya know. _canine_ try to befriend him myself?”

“Sans, listen to me when I tell you this: Dog will _eat you._ ” Well Sans has that magic shit so maybe, just maybe, he’d actually be fine. “Well, maybe the magic might keep you safe but I mean normal bones would be obliterated. This dog is something else. But like are they real bones? Are you made of _real_ bones, Sans, or magic bones? What does your magic even do, li-” Your rambling is cut of with the arrival of Dog.

You scramble to catch his collar before he starts jumping on Sans. This part of the first interaction between Dog and person _(or skeleton)_ is normal, the dumb thing can’t contain his excitement and jumps on everyone. You latch your hands around it but give Dog enough slack to sniff at Sans. _This is always embarrassing, but he just won’t learn to stay down._ You’re probably blushing. Shit. “Just let him sniff you, and then he should be good. Hopefully.”

Sans puts out a hand and lets Dog catch his scent, which immediately calms him down. “Strange, he’s not usually so chill right after meeting someone.”

_It’s probably the magic. Which he never did have the chance to explain. I am going to need to know more about it if I’m going to go to the Underground, and make it out alive, I guess._

You decide not to question him on his magic yet; you’re head is still reeling from everything he had explain to you in the hours earlier. Instead, “Hey, do you like cooking shows?” The afternoon easily dips into evening, the two of you watching t.v. on the couch, Dog and the cats scattered about the room (and you sneakily finding out what you can about how you’re going to survive Monster Society). 

* * *

Two weeks go by quickly.

Sans quickly asserts himself as a part of your routine, with bad t.v., junkfood and you trying to get as much information out of him as you can. He doesn’t know that you’re planning to go down there - that you’re planning to fix the biggest problem in this timeline.

 _He said that most timelines, I’m not me. I’m Frisk. And Frisk saves the monsters. So in most timelines, the monsters get saved. That means that saving the monsters is basically what I’m supposed to do - and I’m not doing that.  
__I_ need _to do that.  
__Fix the big problem in this timeline.  
__And maybe if that happens,_ this _Sans can go home back to his timeline, his family, his Frisk._

The idea of getting your friend back to his home fills you with determination.

You flop down on the couch beside Sans.

“Tell me about the layout of the Underground.”

Sans glances at you but doesn’t turn away from the cooking show you had left on to fill the quiet. “why, are you gonna make a map or something?”

“Yeah, I don’t want to get lost down there.” _WAIT SHIT._ “Uh, I mean, uhm. Shit”

He sighs heavily but doesn’t move an inch. _Lazy ass._ “figured you’d do something like this eventually.”

You don’t turn away from the show either and take a bite of your pizza before responding. “You thought I would do this and didn’t think to help? Lazy.”

“if the shoe fits." He chuckles at you. "besides, i answered all your questions and _still_ show up with pizza.”

“You only do that because if I order it, they don’t put enough tomato sauce on it for your weirdo tastes.”

“don’t get _saucy_.”

It broke the tension and you both laughed.

“really though, you could have just asked. nothing could change frisk’s mind and nothing can change yours, either. if this is what you’ve decided on, there’s no way i can dissuade you.”

Finally, you turn to look at him. Sans’ signature grin looks a little fake, but you decide to take him at face value. If he is willing to help, outright help, then you wouldn’t turn him down. “Really though, I could use your help with this.”

“what part are you working on right now?” You reach forward to the coffee table and grab the notebook that was sitting there and pass it to him.

“Map. Then souls. Then space/time. After that, I’ll probably just fill up a few pages with tips and tricks from what you told of Frisk’s times in the Underground. Most of what I had been planning to put in there is on the sticky notes.”

The sticky notes are your organizers. When you needed to make notes, you’d jot them down as the information was given to you on the nearest piece of paper, then break it up into pieces on sticky notes, and finally you arrange the notes in the most understandable way and transfer that into a good notebook. The ‘guide’ you were making for yourself was no different.

Sans opened the notebook to the page where you had been keeping the random tidbits, turned it so it opened downward, and shook.

Most of the sticky notes feel out.

“thats a lot of tips and tricks.”

You are shocked. “Sans, you get to put all those back, you ass.”

As you sit there slackjawed, he begins to pick through them. “king asgore dreamurr’s common nickname is ‘fluffybuns’; don’t confront undyne until _after_ befriending papyrus; even monster dogs like to be pet.”

“Look, it’s not like you can come with me or anything. Frisk was a little kid, people don’t try so hard to hurt you when you’re cute! I need all the advice I can get!”

“and why can’t i come with you?” Sans turns to you expectantly.

“Well, the barrier for one. What if your magic can’t get you back out? Even if you are from another timeline, you’re still a living being - you know, the stuff the barrier is supposed to keep in the mountain. Also, what happens when you get too close to this timeline’s Sans? Who knows is what happens. You’ve got a family to get back to, I’m not letting you put yourself in harm’s way just yet! I need to be able to do this myself, but that doesn’t mean I can’t make a guide book for myself!”

To your dismay, Sans starts chuckling. _Not laughing, not giggling. That was a_ chuckle. _People only chuckle when they know something you don’t._ You glare in return.

“i-im sorry!”

You glare harder.

“you just seemed so much like _my_ frisk! but y-you talk too much!” He shifts into full blown laughter.

As much as you don’t want to, his good mood draws you back in until you too are laughing heartily. 

You are more **determined** to do this than ever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Over 600 hits and 50 kudos !!!  
> I !! Am so honoured !!!  
> !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
> (also my beta is basically the living version of the sparkle emoji n i love them)


	9. The Last Time I Saw the Sun, I Cried (but not becuase it was the last time I saw the sun)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey. Welcome back. To both me and you.  
> This is also a goodbye, of sorts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im really sorry about the huge break, but diplomas have been kicking my ass and this took the backseat.  
>  ~~This chapter is unedited, but i think you can handle the occasion tense issue.~~  
>  (as of march 26, this has been properly edited)  
> (jesus what a long time later)

“what are you working on now? i thought we finished the notebook.”

“We did. I’m just writing some reminders in for myself.” Sans had said that in some timelines, Frisk couldn’t remember the Aboveground. As much as you sometimes hate your life - or hate yourself or whatever it is you actually hate - you didn’t want to forget it. You didn’t want to forget about your family _(which includes pets)_ , you don’t want to forget about your friends, and you certainly don’t want to forget about exactly why you are doing all this.

In all honesty, you were writing a letter to yourself. It had been something a teacher had made you do for some class you could barely remember in your first year of highschool, ‘write a letter to yourself that is only to be opened if certain qualifications are met.’ The teacher had encouraged people to write for when they are feeling down, to which you thought _Haha, I’ll show_ YOU _down, Mr. Teacher Man._ You decided to write for when you got your first pet. Mr. Teacher Man had been disappointed but couldn’t say anything.

_Nobody who’s actually upset like that wants to write a letter like that. It was a stupid assignment._

But currently, you were doubting your previous judgments. A letter seemed perfect. Okay, well not perfect. If anybody found it on you, you’d probably die of embarrassment. But if you _did_ happen to forget once you get down there, it would be a big help.

Sans brushed past your spot at the kitchen table to make a grab at some food in the fridge. “so do you have any plans on when you’re gonna head down?”

“Not really, just that I want to head out before classes would start back up. I don’t know how long I’ll be gone for and I think it’ll be easier that way.” You decide to finish the letter later and just watch Sans dig through your groceries. “Find anything tasty, bone boy?”

“no.” He straightens, and as you watch, exits the kitchen, goes down the hall towards the basement, and out the side door. You pull your phone out of your pocket and start to mess around on some games, but don’t move from your spot. It takes about five minutes but then you can hear Sans coming back towards the kitchen. “this is much tastier.”

He drops a takeout bag from a burger joint across the city. It takes over an hour to get there and back when driving. You aren’t surprised. “Did you get me fries?”

Sans pulls out a small styrofoam container and drops it in front of you.

“ _Fry_ thank you.”

“how long have you been waiting to use that one?” Sans says with a chuckle and grabs another container from the bag with, surprise surprise, a burger _dripping_ with ketchup inside. _Gross_.

“At least since yesterday.” You start munching away. There is a lull in conversation as you both eat in relative silence. _Which, eating. How does it work when you are literally made of bones. 'Where does it go?' being the big question here._ “You know, if there is anything else you want to put in the notebook, you can. It doesn’t all have to be 100% on topic.”

“alright, you have _percent_ ed me with an opportunity i won’t refuse. toss't to me?” You hand it over to him while groaning.

“That wasn’t even good!”

“good enough for me.” A silence once again falls over the table, with the occasional scratch of pencil on paper.

_Leaving before classes start again seems like a really good idea but they start in like five days. I don’t know if I’ll be ready by then._  
_I don’t know if I’ll ever be ready.  
Maybe it’s best to just get it over with then? I can do something with my friends like tomorrow or the day after and then leave with a clear conscience. Or as close as possible when I am leaving for an undetermined amount of time with undetermined chances of basic survival let alone chances of returning._

You remain completely distracted by thoughts of “ _Am I actually ready?”_ and “ _What happens if I don’t succeed?”_ for what is probably a pretty lengthy amount of time. By the time you absent-mindedly grab another fry, they’ve gone cold. That shakes you out of your own head, _cold fries r GROS._

“Sans?” He’s still sitting across from you, but he’s passed out with his head on the table. Poor thing, as far as you know he’s just been bench hopping ever since he got stuck here, god almost a month ago now. You don’t want to think about how hard this must be for him.

You can’t wake him and move him to the couch or anything, no matter how much you may want too because then he’ll just be awake for good. Or at least until the next time he lets himself slip into unconsciousness. Sans was always so guarded, it rarely happened - but he was _always_ tired. Moving as quietly as possible, you go to the hall closet and grab a light blanket (the only one in there, all the others are still in a pile in your room) and throw it around his shoulders. You decide to take this moment to clean the kitchen a little, doing your best not to make any noise.“This would be so much easier if you slept like the dead…”

You decide not to follow the inevitable train of thought - _What if Sans is the bones of someone from the Surface? Would he remember? Would he be the same?_ \- and instead move to clean the house a little. Just picking up the random bits of garbage and returning some of your possessions to their place in your room, nothing loud enough to wake the sleeping skeleton down the hall. After doing your due diligence, you check on him and get yourself a drink.

“You really should get some more rest buddy,” you say more to yourself than anybody else as you pass Sans again. “My couch is always open, you should know that by now.”

You go back down the hall towards your own room, intent on having a nap of your own.

Hours later, you find that the couch is occupied instead of the kitchen chair.

 _Guess the bonehead just needed an invitation, after all._

* * *

“Why are none of the blankets in the closet?” Jay calls from the hall. You had totally forgotten to fold them and put them back after the last time you had washed them. _Woops._

“Uhh, blanket pile, in my room I think.” After a beat you realize you didn’t answer his question. “I, um, got cold and just took them all.”

Monique, sitting on the couch beside you, calls out to him “Don’t forget to grab the fuzzy one off their bed!”

You huff at the thought of Jay destroying your perfectly constructed blanket nest, but tonight is worth it.

“So why did you want to do this so soon, Love? It's only been a couple weeks since the last movie night and you’re going to see us almost daily starting like say after tomorrow.”

Telling her that you are leaving would be unfair, especially since you don’t know when you’ll be back. At least, that's what you are repeating to yourself over and over.

_Humans really are able to rationalize almost anything to themselves, aren't they._

“I just wanted to have one last good hangout before our lives get all busy and stuff. Besides, don’t you want to spend time with me?” You use your best puppy-dog eyes and it breaks her instantly.

She practically throws herself on you, always the dramatic one. Monique’s hand is across her forehead and the other comes up to gently cup your cheek. “Of course I do, Love! You’re my best friend and I will always want to spend time with you!”

At precisely this moment, Jay returns to the living room with all of your comfiest blankets in his hands. He drops them immediately and gather the both of you in his thin arms. “You two are not allowed to have a moment without me!”

At that Monique and yourself began to laugh and pull him into a real hug. God, do you love your friends or what? Thankfully, no one starts the waterworks and you are able to comfortably set yourselves up in the livingroom for a good night of bad movies. You’re curled up on the couch with your head in Monique’s lap and Loki asleep on your legs. Moni keeps making noises at him, much to your dismay, in hopes of waking him up or something. Who knows with her honestly. Across the room is Jay, lying sideways across the armchair in a way that really shouldn’t be as comfortable as you know it is. Someone ordered the pizza and someone else made the list of movies but this whole event is so common to you that you can’t remember who did what today.

Moni reaches past you to the coffee table and grabs a remote to start the first film. It’s one you’ve all seen more times than you can count but honestly, it is the epitome of what bad movies should be about. Everyone settles comfortably as “Rubber” begins to play. After about ten minutes you’ve all shifted to better see each other when someone quotes or reenacts a particularly good moment. You feel content. Something in the back of your head reminds you that you are doing this so Sans can get back to his family and can feel like this again. Reminding yourself of this makes you appreciate this moment all the more. You snuggle a little further around Monique, who is _still_ quoting the opening speech.

Another while passes easily and you’re all halfway through the movie when the pizza delivery car shows up. You spring from your spot and run to the door to get it before Dog realizes what is going on and makes an entrance. It takes a moment but the delivery person arrives at the door, takes the money, and you head back inside. When you do, you notice the movie has been stopped, and both Jay and Monique are looking at your phone.

_Weird, didn’t I leave that in my room?_

“Haha, sorry Love but it kept making noise!” Monique doesn’t sound the least bit remorseful. You are not surprised.

“Sorry, she made me do it.” Jay both looks and sounds remorseful. You still are not surprised.

It always happens like this.

“So who messaged me?” You sigh and ask them.

They both lean back into your phone before Moni speaks again. “It’s some dude with a skull emoji. They sent a lot of messages, but it isn’t showing what they said. You sure are popular, Love! Care to share?”

You look to Jay for help, “She’s right, you don’t usually get so many texts that aren’t from us.” _traitor._ Avoiding them in a way that feels way too much like deja-vu, you bring the pizza to the kitchen and wait. After a moment the both follow you. You simply hold out your hand, palm up and waiting. Despite the quietness of the house at that moment, you still can’t hear whatever Jay mumbles to Monique as he nudges her, encouraging her to return your property to you. Monique does so with a bright smile that says “I won’t ask now, but you better be damn well prepared to spill all the hot gossip, soon.” You pocket it quickly and elect to keep it there until it’s safe to check. She can be… kinda scary when she wants something.

 _Good thing I won’t be around later to have this conversation!_  
_…_ _  
__I just made myself sad._

You forcefully remind yourself that you won’t be gone for long and that she can bother you all she wants when you return. You are still a little sad, but you refuse to let it put a damper on movie night.

_Movie night is sacred and i will not allow it to be tainted in such a way._

You wake several hours later on the floor with the main menu screen of some god-awful movie lighting up the living room. Had you rolled off the couch and still not woken up? _Wouldn’t be the first time._ Also asleep in various positions are : Jay, still on the armchair; Monique, on the extra blanket pile you started; Dog, on Jay; Loki, on the coffee table _(the little shit, he knows better)_ ; and Azi, on the back of the couch. It was peaceful, you reveled in it. Taking advantage of the peace, you decide now is an appropriate time to text Sans back. Most of them are just puns about random things that he’d seen while wandering around. Even without any context, they are pretty funny. You feel pretty bad for the fact that you are basically the only person he can talk to right now, and you’ll be leaving soon, so you humor him.

*so i was browsing in a stationary store earlier  
*but then it started to _move_

*i found this book about anti gravity at the library  
*it was impossible to _put down._

*i just saw police get called to a daycare center  
*there was a toddler resisting _a rest_.

*if you ever listen to any of my advice, it better be to always trust a glue salesman  
*they always _stick_ to their word.

There are plenty more, but you don’t bother to recount them. You have no idea what he does when he isn’t hanging around your house, but at last it keeps him busy.

-Ive decided when 2 go 

It’s late and you have no idea where he is, but you hope that Sans is safe for the night.

-day after 2morrow  
-or technically 2morrow depending on how u look @ it  
-but im not making u wait any longer and im not making them wait any longer  
-stay safe 2nite, bonehead  
-we’ve got work 2 do in the mornin

You pocket your phone again and will yourself to sleep. You’ll need all the rest you can get. 

* * *

“Sansssss” you groan, “why are we going in the opposite direction of the mountain?” You had taken a shortcut from the center of downtown to one of the outlying pseudo-cities and from there, another shortcut that leads to a small town you remember as being a few hours away when driving.

He stops walking and looks around for a street marker. The sidewalks are completely empty and you can only wonder what any citizens might think of you and the Skeleton walking the streets so early in the morning. “there should be a shortcut to the base of the mountain down the next street.”

“And why are we doing this so early in the morning?” You try and rub the sleep out of your tired eyes, following him when he starts moving again.

He turns and even though his face is almost entirely obscured by the fluff of his hood, you’d bet money he’s silently laughing at you. “thought you said you didn’t want to make anybody wait anymore?”

“Yeah but” you pause to yawn, partially for effect, “I figured they could hold it till morning.” Sans chuckles softly and turns down a new street. After a moment, he stops moving and you watch tiredly as he searches for the rip. You can feel the light tug on what you now recognize as your soul.

It takes a moment and then Sans grabs your hand and you are, for the third time in one morning, having your guts thrown around inside your body. It is … _unpleasant._ The other side is welcome and stable when you both make it there.That is, until you feel the angry wind hit your face and the freezing snow to your legs. You don’t move.

“what, getting cold feet?” Sans looks at you and then back up at the mountain.

You aren’t entirely sure it qualifies as a mountain, though. It isn’t very tall, and it’s completely tree covered. _Must be an Australian mountain or something._ That sparks the thought in you, you have no idea where you are. Sure, you’re at the base of Mt. Ebott, but you not once thought to ask where Mt. Ebott even is. Hell, you not once thought to ask why you are going to get yourself trapped down there with no way to get help.

_This … probably counts as cold feet._

But you don’t want to give into Sans, that just wouldn’t sit right with your stubborn character. So instead you just huff and begin to trudge up the mountain, silently hoping you are going in the right direction. Sure would suck if your dramatic exit was peppered with him having to come save you from going the wrong way. He doesn’t do or say anything, just follows you silently. It’s less work to be silent, anyways.

You both follow a well marked but relatively untraveled path up the mountain. There are no other footprints in the snow, but by the way the trees are spread and the occasional old marker, you can tell that at one point it was a legitimate path. You’ve been walking for about twenty minutes when Sans pokes your side and points to a break in the trees. It seems you are going off road now. This isn’t as much a path, you misstep into unknown bluffs more often than you’d like, but Sans still hasn’t said that you’re going the wrong way. It doesn’t take as long as last time, but he again stops you and points in a new direction. There are another two turns before he stops you to actually say something.

“you’re sure you’re ready? this is the last chance you have to turn back.” Sans doesn’t move past you, he stays where he is standing. You tell him that you’re sure, that you’ve never been surer, and he seems to believe you. “do you have everything you need to take with you?”

Now you turn to look at him, but you can’t see him in all your winter gear.“Yeah! Some snacks, the notebook, the letters, and a change of clothes. And my headphones. Can’t go anywhere without those.” You aren’t sure if he can see you either, but you give him the most truthful smile you possibly can. It’s hard to hear over the wind, but you’re pretty sure that he sighs, in relief?

“alright, just making sure you’re sure. we’re here, by the way.”

He can’t be serious.

“You can’t be serious.”

There’s nothing here!

“There’s nothing here!”

Sans pulls a hand out of his jacket pockets and you can see his hand glow blue. No matter how many times you see it, it’ll always make your heart race. Reminds you of something, but you can’t recall what. He wraps his magic around a, well it looks like a rock, and he raises it a few feet above the snow just beyond arm’s reach and just drops it. A hole opens up. You are shocked.

“ready to go down in history, kid?”

“Was that a pun?”

“when is it not.”

“Welp,” It’s time to go. To the Underground. Change the fate of Mankind. “I am too tired to really process the effects this is gonna have.”

Sans leads you over to the edge of the hole. “yeah, this changes everything, buddy.”

_That’s, that’s a long way down._

“Hey, uh, you mind floating me down there?” You chuckle nervously, that sort of distance is a little much for your tired and irrational mind.

You feel a small hand on the center of your back, and then you feel nothing but the wind. Or rather, you _only_ feel the wind. Something flips you upright, and your eyes make sense of what’s happening.

You are, in fact, being floated down. You look up and scowl at Sans, “No warning? You boneheaded ass!”

Before he gets too far away for you too make out the details properly, you can see him wearing one helluva shit eating grin. “felt like you needed one last _push_! good luck!” he yells down at you and lets you down easy.

The cave is large, too large in fact, to seem real. The trip down is only 20 seconds or so, but you take in the dark walls and the bright flowers - you have no idea how those are growing when it is literally _winter_ outside. You can feel a darkness slipping into your vision, and it isn’t because of the shadows on the walls.

Sans sets you down gently on the yellow flowers and then basically vanishes. Too bad you are busy passing out to notice.


	10. A Letter to Myself is All I Never Wanted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> this is my apology for being gone for 2 weeks

_Dear Future me,_

_Hey. I’m just going to write everything that pops into my head, so the thought process feels organic okay?_

_So I (past you) am writing this in the event that entering the Underground has in some way triggered a memory loss. Now, I have no idea if that’s going to actually happen or not, and even if it does, how much you will have forgotten, so if you_ haven’t _forgotten anything, just remember we were trying to prepare ourselves okay? Don’t judge the methods!_

_Into the nitty gritty now. Okay so basically, timelines are a thing. Think like a river delta. There is the main flow, and it suddenly breaks off into smaller parts. Those smaller parts can break off even further, or rejoin with the bigger flow, but eventually all will make it back to the ocean right? That’s basically what happens with each decision made. Worldwide. Each break makes a new timeline, a new reality, so to speak. Which means there are a shit ton of alternate realities out there. My source tells me that if there was some sort of list of all the timelines, they’d probably bunch all the really similar ones together to make more space for new ones. I dunno what he meant by that, but that's what he told me. Maybe when I (you) read it, you’ll understand it better._

_Anyways, getting back on track, one thing that is basically a staple in most timelines is a kid named Frisk falling into this place called the Underground. You are currently in the Underground. The kid named Frisk works tooth and nail to get to the end of the Underground. You are going to have to work tooth and nail to get to the end of the Underground. The kid named Frisk somehow manages to break the barrier. You are going to have to somehow break the barrier. The barrier being a sort of magical wall that blockes_ everything _in the Underground from leaving._

 _Now let me elaborate, a long time ago some decisions were made and something happened in this timeline that doesn’t happen in the vast majority of them. Crazy right? And this thing that happened sent you on the journey of becoming you. Normally, you’d become Frisk and then this whole ordeal would (I’m told) be a walk in the park. Unfortunately, things are going to be pretty different for us, which is super shitty, but I mean, this is literally our_ one _job in like all of time and space. Space/time. We've got to do it, no matter how hard it is._

 _So in the backpack, there is a notebook full of shit to help you through it though. One caveat though, it’s based on what happens to_ Frisk _and as I’ve said before we are not Frisk, so just take it as guidelines on what to do I guess? I’m not entirely sure how it is all going to go down, I’m just basing what I know on what my source has told me (also he’s being an ass n not letting me just use his name 4 some reason lik wtf) and what I know we will need as support._

_That leads me to the big reason why I’m writing this - You can do it. I know it’s going to be tough, but You can do it. 100% save everyone, no one gets hurt, save the world bullshit. It can be done. If anybody is going to be able to do it, it’s you._

 

(The writing on the letter changes. Someone else has written something)

 

 _hey kid. i’m not sure why you’re writing this but i figured i should add something, you’re doing all this because of me so i feel obligated. don’t let anything tear you down, but don’t give in to violence. you can do it and you can do it peacefully. you_ have _to._

 _don’t worry though, it’ll be a_ peace _of cake._

 _oh and try not to crack or pop or whatever your bones while you’re around the skeletons. it’s weird and they will_ not _be used to it. saves everyone some embarrassment._

_seeya when you make it out._

_good luck kiddo._

 

(The letter returns to the first writing)

 

 _Yeah, okay, I don’t know why he wanted to do that but he also just gave me another note to put in this one, but it isn’t for us so_ Don’t Read It _. Just, don’t be a prick okay? It uh, it goes to Sans the skeleton. I have no idea when you’ll run into him though so just keep it handy. Normally Frisk runs into him outside the Ruins but there are no guarantees that he’ll still be there._

_Uhhhh so Our source says that if you can’t find Sans, give it to Doctor Alphys. She’ll be in Hotland. Probably. I’m pretty sure I put something in the notebook about her so I’m not going to do it here._

_Okay back to the notebook. There are a few things in there about some notable monsters you will run into. Some that you may have to fight as well. In fact,_ (something is erased here and wrote over with _“source”_ in someone else’s handwriting) _and I made like a three page section about it and what might happen. And how to get out peacefully. So don't worry! It’s all in there! You’ll be fine! mostly!_

_Besides, the only way you’re going to make it out is to become friends with everybody down there - and if they are your friends then they are like contractually obligated to help so there’s that._

_I’ve been writing this while we get ready to travel to the place where I’m going to enter the Underground and we are almost good to go so I’ve got to wrap this up. I know you can do it, Future Me._

 

_Remember! Make Friends, Be peaceful, and most of all_

  
_Stay Determined_


	11. Flowers Shouldn't Talk Unless this is Disney and We've Always Found Disney Boring.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> *BANGING POTS AND PANS OVER MY HEAD WHILE SHOUTING* THIS IS IT. THIS IS WHAT I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR. THE ENTRANCE OF MY FAVORITE CHARACTER. HERE WE ARE I AM SO EXCITED I AM SO READY FOR YOUR FEEDBACK

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please tell me that you've read the three new tos chapters before reading this.

Something is touching your leg. 

You squeeze your eyes tighter shut and shake your leg a little. “Az, it is too early, lemme sleep,” you mumble from underneath the covers. A breeze hits your side and you shiver. Or perhaps, you’re not underneath the covers?

The thing is still touching your leg.

“Azi!” You push yourself up as quickly as possible, hoping to scare her away. Your eyes stay closed, though, if you open them then you are giving up your right to sleep.

It’s _still_ touching you.

You open your eyes and see that you are not in your room; the thing touching you is not your cat, it is a flower.

As it turns out, you are at the bottom of a hole, lying on a _bed_ of golden flowers.

You flop back down to the ground and stare at the opening of the hole, wondering if this is a dream. _Dream checklist: 1. Go through everything you see. Two hands, two feet, full set of winter clothing, cel-_

_Winter clothing?_

Above you, a snowstorm seems to be picking up speed. Surely, this is a dream because there is no way flowers would survive being so close to _that._ You pinch yourself. Nothing happens. You do it again, harder, and again nothing happens.

_Not a dream I guess._  
_I…  
I have no idea how I got here._

That’s a troubling thought and it causes you to sit ramrod straight. You start going over what you have, for real this time. If you're stuck in an unknown place, you need to at least know what resources you have. There’s your thick winter jacket and boots, handmade gloves, toque, and scarf, and your larger backpack which is still on your back. You wonder how you ever thought you were actually asleep comfortably with that attached to you.

“Hey! You’re awake now!” _I am awake now. Apparently._ “I was getting super fucking bored so let’s get it started, Frisky B.”

_Frisky B.?  
_ _I think I might actually still be dreaming._

“Oh cmon Frisk, don’t go all starry eyed on me! We’ve got work to do!”

You look around to try and figure out where the voice is coming from. It’s the first time you really take in your surroundings. You’re at the bottom of a hole, yes, but it’s more of a cave than a hole. There is a blackish sort of rock all around you, filling out a huge cavern that you can’t even see the edges of with the poor light being filtered through the hole. The bed of flowers is rather plush and thick, but you don’t think that it’d be enough to save you any damage from a fall at that height. Speaking of the height, it’s almost enough to make you sick from just looking at it. By now you’ve made a full 360 but you still don’t see the source of the voice.

“Hello?” Your voice is weak. _Makes sense, this entire thing is basically a breakdown in the making._

“Up here! Jeez Frisky B., You used to be smarter than this! What happened to you _this_ time to mess you up so bad?”

Your eyes fly above your head faster than you thought possible. Floating, because that’s the only word you can think of, above you see a kid. They are almost entirely translucent like a ghost would be in the movies. Your eyes are drawn to their face. It’s only half visible, and a ring of the huge flowers that are growing at your feet blocks out everything above their nose. As they float, petals will fall just above your head and then vanish, but the flower crown never looks depleted.

“Who…?”

”Oh come _on_ Frisk. Don’t play this game, we both know you couldn’t forget me if you tried.” They move themself lower in front of you and twist until you are face to face.

You are unbelievably confused.

“I honestly have no idea who you are,” you say shakily.

The ghostly kid just sneers at you. “Oh, Frisk, you can't fool me. We both know that.”

You stare blankly at them for a few beats and decide that ignoring them would be way easier that trying to convince them. With that in mind, you shrug off your backpack and go through the contents. Inside is a change of clothes (they look like summer wear), a few snacks, a notebook, a thick envelope, and all three of your backup phone batteries.

“Oh! You’ve never been so well prepared! We might just make it through this time!” The kid is beside you now, peering into your backpack.

“What?” You don’t want to acknowledge the kid, but they’re right, you _are_ strangely well prepared for this. Had you been planning on doing this? Well, if you had, you certainly don’t remember it.

_Wait._

You pull your phone out of its home in your jacket pocket and check the date. It's … It’s two weeks later than it should be. You’ve literally lost two weeks of time.

_What the fuck_

You’re beginning to freak out.

“Wait! Frisk, take a deep breath. C’mon kid, it’ll be fine.” The floaty child drops onto the ground with a soft thud and reaches a hand out toward you. Their voice betrays how anxious _your_ freak-out is beginning to make them. They take a deep breath before continuing. “Take my hand, kid. I-I promise I’ll keep you safe.”

They say it like it’s the last thing on earth they want to do, but you don’t focus on that, you focus on the prospect of some sort of grounding contact. You grab their hand. It is surprisingly solid but completely cold. It grips yours tight, and if you weren’t so comforted by the contact, you’d wonder how there were managing it. “You promise?”

“I do.” You can’t see their eyes, but you can feel an intensity coming from them.

You grip it hard, their hand starts to feel almost like jelly, but that doesn’t change the fact that finally, you are starting to calm down. “Why?”

They start to say something, stop, giggle, and start again. “Because I need you Frisk. Also, I seem to have a thing for helping crybabies.” The second half comes out much quieter. You doubt they want to admit that part.

Their laugh, however slightly creepy, is a little infectious and you can feel yourself feeling better already, “I appreciate all the help I can get. I, uh, I’m totally lost here.”

“I know.” They giggle again. It's a little creepy

After a moment to steady yourself again, you lean over to grab the envelope from your bag beside you and see that it is marked with your name. “Huh. A letter to myself?”

The floaty kid goes back to floating and peers over your shoulder. “Woah, never seen you with that name before.”

“What?”

“Doesn’t matter kid, you’ll always be Frisk to me.” They grin widely and the petals on their garland turn a blood red. You are _terrified_. They seem to pick up on it. The flowers go back to normal. “You really don’t remember anything, do you, Frisky?”

You shake your head.

“So you don’t remember me at all?”

This time you nod.

“Huh. That makes things …” They trail off and move from your side to above you again. “interesting.”

You want to open the envelope, but your curiosity at exactly what the floaty kid means is getting the better of you.

_Also, I think that calling them the Floaty Kid is a little insensitive. What if they can’t control their floating? I don’t want to be rude._

“What’s _your_ name? I’m calling you floaty kid in my head but you surely must have a name?”

“You’ve been calling me,” it feels like a pause for effect, but they seem too mad for that. Their flower crown is red again. “Floaty Kid?”

You shrink back a little. What a tiny asshole! Being angry when they didn’t even give you their name is totally unfair.

 _God if I wasn’t so freaked about all this i’d probably_ be _mad for real._

They take off laughing, doing mid-air flips and their flowers now a brilliant gold. “That’s hilarious! Hahaha! That’s amazing! I f - hehe - I fucking love it! If I wasn’t dead already, that'd probably kill me!”

You are _shocked._

“I - hahaha! I’m the - haha, jeez hahahaha h-hold on.” They laugh heartily for a moment before calming down enough to form a coherent sentence. “I am the 'Demon who comes when you say their name'.” They snort and go back to laughing for few minutes.

_They act like a child but also someone who’s been on their own for too long._

You glare at the kid. _That is not a real name._

Once their laughing/spinning calms down, their flower eyes glare back.

You don’t give in.

They don’t give in.

You still don’t give in.

They still don’t gi- “FINE. Determined asshole,” they mumble under their breath, “My name is Chara.”

“Okay, Cha-”

“No. My _name_ is Chara, but you don’t get to call me that. Just call me “C”, got it, Shortstack?” They, Chara, C drops on the ground beside you with a thud. They still have that glassy, translucent appearance, but they look totally serious.

You raise your hands in a pacifying gesture. “Sure, uh, C. Whatever you say.” How had they calmed you down from a panic attack mere minutes ago? Did they know they were on the verge of causing another one?

“Well, aren’t you going to open it?” C crouches beside you, pointing at the letter you let fall into your lap.

“Uh.” You rip the envelope open and two pieces of paper fall out. One has your name, and the other reads “Sans”, in your handwriting. You open the one to yourself and hold it out into the light. C, still solid enough - which you don’t understand - to be on the ground, sits down beside you to read it over your shoulder.

You don’t understand this in the slightest either. You _had_ been prepared for coming down here, and you were right about the possibility of not remembering anything.

_This is getting weird.  
_ _What am I talking about, this whole thing is weird!_

You look up at Chara, who has started floating again. They seem bored, and probably haven’t noticed you watching them. They look like a teen, perhaps 15 years old, but they also look _old._ You can see it in their posture, the way they hunch in on themself, whatever happened to them, _(they said that they were dead?)_ it was not something good. For all that they looked and acted like a petulant child, you had a feeling they would keep their word on helping you.

_… Wait  
_ _When did I start relying on a ghost person for comfort?_

The idea of being under the care of someone who couldn’t care for themself enough to stay alive makes nervous laughter bubble out of your throat. You quickly quell it, though, that was a very rude thought and you should know better than to be so mean, even in the quiet of your own mind.

“If you’re laughing it means you're done reading that thing, which means I can complain about it now.”

“Uhm, yeah? I read it, but I don’t understand it.” You are so fucking confused right now.

“Whatever Frisk, who cares.” C waves their hand dismissively. ”I’m just mad that the smiley bone bag is involved. The other letter is to that asshole which means that he is totally wrapped up in whatever fucked with this timeline. AND! Based on what’s _your_ letter, you did know what happened to make this one so different before you got here, and now! You. Can’t. Remember. Perfect! Besides, if he is getting involved this early in the run, I basically won’t have any fun at all! What a prick. This whole thing is basically pointless now!” They continue to rant for another few minutes. C gets so wrapped up in their own anger that they don’t notice you stand, reading the letter over again.

_A mission… a cosmic mission._  
_I guess I’m at least obligated to give it a shot, right?  
_ _Plus, I get the feeling I’m stuck down here until it’s over with._

You’re **determined** to at least try.

“Hey, you promised to help me stay safe, right?” You look up from the letter and C looks up from the tiny floating ball they fixed themselves into to rant.

They look a little shocked. “Uh, yea Frisky. I, fuck,” they pull back into a floating ball, mumbling again. “I did, didn’t I?”

“Well, I think it’s time we get to work then, huh?” You smile as brightly as possible at them. After a moment, they uncurl enough to be standing. _Well, if they weren’t a foot above the ground._

“Yeah, I guess it _is_ time we get to work.” They smile back, but it makes you think of a scheme in the making. “We need to do something first, though. Uh, things don’t normally happen like this so I don’t know how it will all go down.”

At least they are trying to help? “Sure, what do we need to do?”

They return to the solid soil and …

_Honestly, it looks like they are constipated. And completely solid. What the fuck._

You have no idea what is going on. They stay standing there like that for another minute or so, and then you hear something that sounds like the earthquake effects from movies. After that, there is a whizzing noise and you see something dark and shiny shoot from the ground before holding itself aloft in front of Chara and falling to the ground. They relax almost immediately and go back to looking incorporeal.

_Uhhhh._

With a small sigh, they pick up the small object. You can’t help but notice that despite most of their body looking translucent, their hand looks almost real. Like a normal person’s hand. You suddenly realize you have no fucking clue what Cha- “C” is. None. Like at all.

As you come to your striking revelation, C goes back to hovering a foot off the ground and comes to stop right in front of you. They put out their hands, holding the small shiny thing, and once you also bring your hands out, they drop it into your care. “That's a piece of my soul! This is the first time I’ve ever heard of things playing out like this so I guess you’re going to have to physically take it with you. Maybe in your backpack or something, just be careful with it. If _anything_ happens to it, you’re going to have to deal with some serious consequences!” They giggle sweetly like they didn’t just threaten you.

_It’s so small, only about the size of a lighter. And it’s covered in something gooey?_

You try to wipe the blackish substance off the top of it, but you can’t. It doesn’t stick to you, much to your relief, but that doesn’t explain what it is. “Do all souls have this weird goo on them?” You pick the soul piece up between two fingers to inspect it a bit closer.

It honestly feels kinda like jello. The thought passes through your head that if you pinched, you could break it. The black liquid seems to pour infinitely out of the soul, just like the flower’s from C’s garland, and, just as the flowers, the goo disappears once it has gone too far from the source. Underneath all that blackness, you can see that the soul shard is a brilliant red.

“Nope!” C looks proud as they answer your question, their flowers a beautiful gold. “It’s pretty fucked up, but then again, so am I so it fits.”

You decide that their smile is not _supposed_ to be creepy, it just _happens_ to be. You put the soul piece in your pocket beside your phone, the most secure place you can think of. _That’s enough of inspecting things for now,_ you decide, _time to get a move on._ “Uhm, so do you know where we go first?”

“You can bet your pacifist ass, I do, Frisky. But you won’t like it.” Their smile is now intentionally creepy.

You get a feeling that they're right, you _won’t_ like it. 

* * *

“C?”

“what.”

“Why are there flowers underground?”

“why are there flowers _above_ ground?”

“K.”

You’ve been walking through the cave for at least a half hour, away from the hole, and yet it never seems to get very dark. C floats lazily near your shoulder, lying on their back and picking at a giant buttercup _(?)_ blossom while avoiding telling you anything. You really are not sure what you expected. At first, it seemed like they would be a helpful guide, but now it seems more like they were just using you to break the monotony of being dead.

Hey, it’s not all bad, though! You managed to weasel it out of them that they are actually _dead_. The only reason they’re still around is a “ stupid high level of determination” and the fact that when their soul shattered (which is a thing that souls do. apparently), there was a piece large enough to keep their consciousness attached to it. When you asked about why they can, for lack of a better word, turn corporeal, they just shrugged and said “Magic.” You decided to drop the subject not long after that.

The two of you travel through another section of cave in relative silence.

“Hey, C?”

“what.”

“Did we go in a loop?” You point forward.

“What?” Chara rolls over and is now lying on their stomach looking towards what you’re pointing at.

What you are pointing at is, in fact, another bed of the yellow flowers. It looks the same as the one you woke up on, but then again, pretty much everything looks the same right now.

“Oh!” They pull themself upright and drop to the ground with a soft thud. “Well, Frisky, right now is the start of your journey! Let’s hope you don’t die, yeah?” They giggle.

You are stunned into silence. After a moment of just standing there, wondering _what the fuck did that mean_ , C grabs your hand and pulls you forward towards the flowers. As you approach, a single flower, bigger than the others, raises itself and turns toward you.

It has a face.

The face also looks pretty fucking pissed.

“Chara! Are _finally_ ready to play?”

The face _also_ also talks.

“Oh, Azzy, we’re _always_ playing.” Chara stalks forward and then throws you in between them and the talking flower. “But the _real_ game is about to start.”

The flower looks terrified. You feel terrified. C’s flowers turn a heady scarlet.

_shit shit shit shit shit_

The flower, “Azzy”, then laughs, a sick and evil laugh if you’ve ever heard one. It’s face shifts into something to match it. “Just like the good old times!”

You have no idea what C is up to, but it doesn’t seem like anything good. With all the adrenaline running through your system, you can hear more footsteps coming from somewhere.

“Just like the good old times.” Underneath their flower crown, C probably winks to match the scary wide grin.

And then they vanish.

Leaving you alone with the flower.

_SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT_

“So, Frisk! How have you been, Friend?” It’s voice and face go back to looking sweet. It makes you unbelievably uncomfortable. And a little sad. “Buddy. Not gonna answer? It’s me, your pal, Flowey.”

You stay silent. Both out of fear and defiance.

“So that’s how it’s gonna be. Well,” It’s face morphs into something you recognize as nightmare fuel, and with a small pop, something red and shiny is being held between you.

_My soul..._  
_Wait, how do I know that?  
Must’ve been something I’ve forgotten from before coming down here. Oh man, sure wish I could remember that shit._

Sick laughter brings you violently back to the present. “You remember how it goes, right?”

Everything around you looks dull compared to the stark brilliance of your soul. Even the words the flower is saying to you seem muted. You feel hollow and exposed.

“It’s **kill or be killed.** ” Thin white objects raise themselves from around the flower and, the moment it’s finished threatening you, they begin to shot off towards you.

 _Move, Frisk._ C’s voice comes to you softly. You’d ask about what they _were_ doing, _are_ doing, and _will_ do, but the danger of the situation takes hold of you. _Just don’t let the pellets hit your soul._

You nod and scramble backwards, your soul moving with you. In front of you, Flowey _(what a stupid name JFC)_ looks unconditionally angry and summons even more of the bullet things.

_Help is coming. Last a little longer, Frisk. _

This time, you strafe to the right, your soul just barely dodging the flower’s attack. It attacks again almost immediately, and you drop to the ground to avoid it. Your soul stays right where it is.

You.

Are.

Hit.

And everything suddenly hurts.

_Stay **Determined!** You can’t give up now! _

With the last bit of everything you have, you push yourself further away from the demonic flower. This time, your soul moves. _Side to side but not up or down. Wish I had known that earlier._

You’re so focused on _not dying_ that you don’t notice the footsteps get closer and closer before stopping. Across from you, there is a sudden brilliance, almost as bright as your soul, and it’s aimed towards the damned flower. It seems to realize this and vanishes into the earth. You scramble forward and push your soul back into your chest.

Colours you forgot you could see come back into your vision and you feel less exposed. With a sigh of relief you try and pull yourself to your feet, to address who or whatever saved you.

_What if they’re even worse than the flower?_

_Don’t worry, you can trust her. _

_C? How are you in my head?_

_I’m not. You’re whispering to yourself. _

_Uhhhh._

_Yes, you have been doing it the whole time. Frisky, you should really try to get that under control._

You try to take a step forward and all the pain Flowey caused comes back hard. Apparently, your adrenaline had begun to run out. _Fuck._ You stumble and fall to your knees.

Warm, fuzzy, hands pick you up, you’re consciousness is slipping. “Oh, you poor thing. Stay determined, child. I promise I’ll keep you safe.”

“You promise?” you mumble out as the familiar blackness creeps into your vision.

“I do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love!!! Chara!!! My lovely sad stabbybaby!!!!!! to clarify: Chara will contort themself into weird positions when floating, and their ability to move around while hovering is not tied to any action (like making walking motions to move forward) and is instead them just willing themself to move
> 
> Also!! in case you haven't noticed, there is a set chapter number. 51 in total. That's right, this whole fic is planned out. Also it is very long??? well, who cares about length, that just means that we have lots of time for fun™ . Anyway, I hope you are ready for what comes next!!!


	12. Goat people r HOWT n i'm not just talking bout all that fur

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We meet momma (and avoid flirting with her, much to the author's chagrin)  
> (...)  
> (just couldn't make it work in the chapter)  
> ( :c )

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song in mentioned in the latter half of the chapter is [Warmer Climate by Snow Patrol](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Un1K-cQYm1I)

You wake to the motion of being carried. Almost instantly you begin to scramble around for some kind of purchase, and find your hands wrapped around soft white fur.

 _Keep_ _calm, don’t worry. She’ll keep you safe. I promise._

_You do?_

_I_ _do._

“Child, are you awake?” A voice like satin and coffee speaks quietly down to you. You nod against their - her chest. She stops walking “Can you walk, my child?”

“... I-I can try.” The towering furry woman sets you down softly. She holds your arm to steady you as you try to steady yourself. You are … a little unsteady on your feet, but you manage. “There! Just walk slow please, and I can keep up.”

C had said to trust her, and you _(mostly)_ trusted C so … Besides, from the small sparks of remembered pain, this must be the person who saved you from the crazy flower.

You smile up at her, now truly getting a chance to take in the woman who saved you. She looks like a goat. Covered in soft white fur, with two horns coming out of her head, and wearing a beautiful purple dress. You feel the urge to call her “Mom” but quell it quickly enough. You doubt your own mother would appreciate it much, no matter how much of a shit job she did.

“Of course, Child.” She smiles at you, brightly, and with love. You feel weak.

Or maybe you don’t, you just want to be carried again.

_God, what a woman._

_Dude, chill. _

You forgot that you’ve got this awful habit of whispering your thoughts under your breath.

_C? Where are you at? Do you know where she’s taking us?_

_I’m above your shoulder - just keeping as invisible as possible. Duh. M-Toriel is taking us somewhere safe. For now. _

_For now?_

_Have you already forgotten why you’re down here? _ C sounds a little angry - impatient, or annoyed. You've only known them for what, a few hours, and that already seems typical.

_No, I remember why we are here._

They don’t respond for a moment.  _We? I’m only here because I have to be. Promises and all._

You make a physical effort to keep your thoughts to yourself.

 

 _This is a mess. I’m relying on a dead teen for assurances of safety,_ even after they threw me to the dogs.  
_Well it was a flower. Same thought though.  
__AND DAMN. What the fuck was that flower? Creepy faces, seeds being thrown at me, serious possible death. God, almost dying_ _hurts. Haven’t been that scared since the haunted house back in third grade._

 

You _had_ gotten hurt pretty bad but you don’t feel any of the pain. _How am I standing now?_

_She healed you, Duh. _

_Oh._

“I am Toriel, Child. Are you ready to walk? We are going somewhere safe, where you can rest properly.” You give her what you hope is a bright smile, the best you can at present. Every time you close your eyes you can feel those pellets striking your soul and the fear it caused. That puts a _serious_  damper on your mood right now. Even the idea of a safe haven is tainted.

You put one foot in front of the other but keep a hold on Toriel’s arm in case you need it. She leads you through another cave like tunnel before you come to a large door made of what seems to be the same stone as the cave wall. It is _very_ impressive. You wonder if everything down here will be so awe inspiring, although you can’t tell if it is a fearful or an excited awe yet.

As she guides you through the doorway, Toriel begins to speak once again. “This place is the Ruins, and I am its caretaker. This place is virtually empty now, but it is nice here.” She breaks away from your arm and goes to stand in front of you.

You take this moment to look around the Ruins. The stone walls are hewn, and despite their roughness, it feels elegant and royal, but also familiar. The rich purple colour probably helped with that too - Toriel’s dress is a similar colour. Everything looks like it was once magnificent, but time has worn it down. It doesn't detract from the splendor however, you decide. Further in the Ruins, you see small piles of red-orange leaves. Despite being underground in the dead of winter, it feels like fall here. Earthy, spice smells and warm colours - You are enthralled.

 _Just going to stand there? Jeez Frisky, I always forget how _ sentimental _you are._

_What’s the problem with being sentimental?_ You decide to not bring up the fact that since you’ve never been here before, you can’t _actually_ be sentimental.

 _Sentimentality is _ Feeling _. I hate feeling_.  C hisses at you.

With that, you decide to get a move on. Taking one last look up at the Ruins proper, letting it fill you with determination, you once more follow after Toriel. You scramble after her, following her down the spacious tunnel and up the stairs at the end of the room. Once up the ornate staircase, she leads you into another slightly less-than-spacious room, this one having large buttons on the floor.

“Welcome to your new home, my child. The Ruins are a magnificent place, but they are full of dangerous puzzles. Allow me to educate you in their operation.” Toriel points to the door across from you and then to the large silver buttons on the floor. You don’t see any sort of handle on the door, so you assume it must be opened by those buttons. She then steps across four of the six in a deliberate pattern and pulls a small golden lever near the door that you didn’t even notice at first. The door opens with a quiet whoosh and Toriel gives you a small smile before stepping through it. Absently, you trace her footsteps over the puzzle but pause before heading into the next room. You can hear her voice gently float to you. It speeds you through the door and after her.

“These puzzles are ancient fusions between diversions and door keys, even if they do have some modern flair,” she chuckles and winks at you, “Please adjust yourself to the sight of them. You will have to become skilled in their use if you wish to move around more easily.”

_Move more easily? She’s making it sound like there’s no way to get out of here. C? Do you know anything about this?_

_I was trapped over that pile of flowers for years, I have no idea what could have happened out here. No help from you in changing that. _

_… I’m here now?_ You know that it doesn't change anything, but maybe it would be a comfort.

C doesn’t have anything to say to that, and they didn’t answer your question. With no other help, you decide to just go along with whatever Toriel says. “Sure, Toriel. I’ll make sure to do that.”

She nods at you and smiles softly at you again. It reminds you of a mother, glowing with pride (even if it was something _your_ mother never did). “To make progress here, you will need to trigger several switches. Do not worry, I have labelled the ones that you need to flip.”

“Doesn’t that make them redundant? Aren’t the puzzles here to keep you safe from intruders?” Why barricade the entrance to someone, but then mark it so anyone who is here can get it? That’s like inviting a robber over to show them a personal collection of valuables, and then asking them to housesit - a terrible idea.

Toriel gives you a strange look and you can almost hear C calling you an idiot in the back of your mind, “My Child, Monsters are made of different things than Humans. We have no need to keep others out, no monster would harm another willingly. I … do not mean to be callous, I apologize.”

“it’s alright.” She hadn't said anying even remotly bad enough to offened you, but you take the apology anyways.

“Do not worry, Little one. You are sure to be safe here.”

You are not all that little, but you can understand the sentiment. Toriel motions to the room around you both, and you take it in. Beyond you, there is a small stream of water coming from one hole in the wall to another, and there is another one on the far side of the room. It is very quiet, but you still berate yourself silently for not noticing earlier. On a wall near you, just after the first stream, there is clearly marked lever. There are foot-long yellow arrows painted on the wall pointing toward it.

 _That’s uh,_ very _clear._

C sounds a little exasperated.  _That’s just how she is. No subtly and all the jokes._

_Jokes?_ You haven’t heard any jokes yet.

 _Oh Frisky B. You have no idea. _ They laugh quietly and then fade back into silence.

You run across and pull the lever, with her following behind. Toriel smiles brightly at you before stopping at the crossing for the second stream. She again waits for you to do something before moving forward, electing to just watch you with wide eyes. You can’t help but wonder why she seems so invested in you, this regal woman must have something more important than you to worry about, but C’s assurances quiet any stray thoughts you may have. After a cursory look around you find the second (and third) levers, beyond the second stream. You decide to just jump over the water instead of using the small wooden bridge, much to Toriel’s quiet dismay. Without a second thought, or a look back, you pull the second lever. There is the sound of metal sliding quickly against metal and even though you hadn’t seen anything blocking the path forward, you assume it’s open now. You hesitate before moving to the third lever, however, because it is unmarked. Just before you are able to wrap your hand around it, you hear Toriel “tut” softly and explain that you only need to activate the _marked_ switches.

 _Yea, Frisky. Only the_ marked _ones.   _C sneers at you like a child who just got you in trouble. You ignore them.

“Splendid! I am proud of you, Little one. Let us move to the next room.” When you turn to face Toriel, you see that she is standing in the doorway atop some shiny pads. You assume they have something to do with the sound you heard earlier and decide to forget about it. She quickly spins on her heels (which you have just noticed are completely bare) and briskly walks through the opening into another, more square room.

 

_I wonder if she would be able to feel stepping on a lego through all that fur…_

 

Toriel comes to a halt a few feet in front of you and motions her hand toward an (unbelievably ill maintained) mannequin. _It’s even lost its shape. Poor thing._ “As a human living in the Underground, monsters may attack you. You will need to be prepared for this situation. However, worry not! The process is simple. When you encounter a monster, you will encounter a **fight**. While you are in a **fight** ** _,_ ** strike up a friendly conversation.”

_A friendly conversation is all it takes to get me out of a fight? I call bullshit._

_Sure,_ _call bullshit. You’re the one that dies if you don’t do as she says._

_What really? I’m made of tougher things._

You want to argue with C some more, but they fade out laughing and Toriel resumes speaking. “Practice talking to the dummy, Child.”

She then moves to stand at the side wall, blocking the way forward. There is no escape, you must talk to the dummy.

 

 _That'll make_ me _feel like a dummy._

 

You walk up to the dummy. Just before you can open your mouth to say something, there is a tug on your chest and Your tiny red soul is drawn forth. There is a moment of complete terror, where all of your senses are drawn back to the encounter with … _uhhh_ … Somehow you managed to forget the name of the thing that almost killed you. _Typical._ The momentary sidebar from your fear doesn’t stop you from beginning to freeze up. If your knees were locked, the tremors would have probably knocked you over.

You feel a ghostly hand wind itself into yours and you stop shaking almost immediately.  ** You encountered the Dummy. ** _What_ _do you want to do?_

_What can I do?_ You whisper quietly, more thankful than ever of your tag-a-long almost-friend.

 _You can _ **Fight, Act,** _use an_ **Item,** _or use_ **Mercy.**

_What would you suggest?_

_Toriel said to talk. That’s acting. _

You decide to **Act** on the Dummy.

 ** Check ** _or_ **Talk** _?_

You want to **Check** the Dummy before  **Talking** to it. Even though you can’t see them, you get the feeling C nods at you, pleased with your choice.

 **Dummy - ATK 0 DEF 0** _._ A cotton heart and a button eye. You are the apple of my eye. 

You don’t know how to respond to any of that so you choose not to. _Can I_ **Talk** _to it now?_

_No, you have to wait for your turn. _

_My turn? Are you kidding me? This more of a game than a fight._

_Life _ is _a game and the only way to win is to die._

You elect to ignore their morbid comment and wait for the Dummy’s turn to end. Nothing happens.

Dummy looks like it’s going to fall over.

You don’t do anything.

_What are you waiting for, it’s your turn now you idiot! _

_Oh! I didn’t realize that._ You **Act** and then **Talk** to it.

You talk to the Dummy … It doesn’t seem much for conversation.

_Is that it?_ You don’t remember actually saying anything to the Dummy, but it seemed to have worked.

_Yea, Toriel seems pleased. _

The encounter ends and you rush forward to push your soul back into your chest. Just like the last time, you feel fuller with it in your chest and less exposed. Once it is back in, however, the shaking starts up again. You hear C whisper something in your ear, but the words don’t register. You curl in on yourself in an attempt to make shaking stop, and after a moment the sound of Toriel’s voice hits your ears.

For the third time in one day, two days at most, you fall unconscious. 

* * *

When you wake again, it hits you pretty fast what you did. You shoot up ramrod straight with anxiety, because _wow I passed out again what a fucking idiot._

“Relax, she isn’t upset.”C’s voice gently (yet briskly) breaks you out of your panic-filled thoughts. “If anything, I’d say that she’s glad to have someone to take care of again.”

You take a moment to look around the room you are now in. You don’t remember coming in here, so Toriel must have placed you here while you were still unconscious. It has a soft colour, like that of a child’s room, and all the furniture matches both in colour and style. C is floating lazily over the rug in the middle of the floor, right above what looks to be a slice of pie. On the walls, there are a few drawings, and the bookcase is full… Despite how lived in the room looked, you could see that there was a thin layer of dust on all the furniture but the bed. You don’t see your backpack anywhere, or your jacket for that matter.

“C? Where are we? Where is my stuff?” Something delicious catches the attention of your nose, “And what is that heavenly smell?”

They float backwards until they are touching the wall and then lean against it. C pulls a dusty gold flower from their garland. “1. The Ruins proper, in Toriel’s home. 2. In the entryway. 3. The pie. That’s right there. On the floor. That I know you saw.”

With each answer they pull a petal off the flower. You watch them for a few moments before asking whose room this is. Instead of naming the current owner, (or previous one, from the dusty state of things) C just says that Toriel intends to give it to you. More petals fall from their hands onto the floor before fading away.

 

 _Give it to me? That’s… Why would she just give it to me?_  
_I’ve…  
It feels like I’m swimming in my own head._

 

Everything feels familiar and at the same time it feels like you’ve never seen it before and it’s making you sick. The scent of cinnamon and butterscotch is so overpowering you decide that you need to get out of this room _now_. You stumble out from under the covers and push yourself out the door. C doesn’t follow you, but when you make sense of being in the hallway, they are there. In the back of your head, curiosity is beginning to spark to life, but you want comfort more than anything. You take a quick moment to determine which end of the hallway lead to the entry and then quickly head towards it. Moving away from the bedroom does nothing to quell the feeling of unease you have, if anything, it makes it worse. You can’t shake it out of your head that you’ve been here before in some twisted ongoing form of deja-vu.

The entryway is a rather large room, with a staircase in the back. On the walls, you can see several picture frames and the house has what would be in any other situation a very comforting and homey smell. Right now, however, you just want something that is known to you. C floats in behind and above you and continues until they are past you. You want to ask what they are doing, but they point the flower that is still in their grasp at your backpack, just below them. Wow! Your jacket had even been neatly folded and put inside! Quickly you pick them both up and return to the bedroom you had woken up in.

You avoid the pie on the floor and opt to just sit on the bed. C again doesn’t follow you through the door and instead just fades into existence somewhere in the room - this time on the bed beside you.

 

_Something… I need something from home …_

 

You dump the backpack out on your lap, several items spilling onto the floor. You disregard them and instead dig around the items in your lap for your earbuds. It won’t be much, but maybe listening to the songs you’ve always listened to might make you feel better.

 

 _I don’t even know what’s_ wrong _! I just … want something from home._

 

You’re head feels like it’s wrapped in a fog. When you grab your phone from its place in your jacket pocket, you leave the piece of C’s soul in there. It’s probably a good idea to handle it as little as possible. You plug the earbuds into the phone and hold one out to C if they want to take it. There is a few moment’s hesitation before they do. With a practiced hand, you bring up the music menu and put on an old favorite.

  _Tell me if I'm going crazy  
__But everything you said amazed me_

Sure, it may not be the happiest of songs, but you had been listening to it for years.

  _Seems to easy on the ear to  
   _ _Be something I should adhere to_

The gentle sounds and lyrics seem strangely appropriate for what is going on right now, but you wouldn’t realize that until later.

 _You told me to just simply wander  
   _ _Rather than take shelter under_

You hum along to the song, letting the nostalgia you have attached to it flow over you. Your sense of self grows a lot stronger.

 _And open my heart to the thought that  
   _ _Life is something you're not caught at_

It’s then that you begin to feel better - not more comfortable in your confusion or something stupid like that, you are actually feeling better. You think about that for a few moments and by the time you make the realization that perhaps your wellbeing is connected to your state of self, the song is almost over.

 _But the universe is just an empty space  
_ _And all the stars can disappear without a trace_

Neither of you has said anything, but when you glance at C sitting beside you, you can see that they are listening intently.

 _And I'm so glad that this has taken me so long  
   _ _'Cause it's the journey that made me so strong_

The last line of the song revitalises you a little, just as it had always done every other time you listened to it in a time of need. C silently hands you back the earbud. You want to ask them about something, everything, but you can’t figure out the words you’d use.

The next song starts playing but you don’t pay attention to it. Instead, you search the items you’ve dumped for the letter you’ve read before and the notebook you hadn’t yet. You quickly skim the letter, to jog your memory on what exactly is in there, before opening up the notebook. Before you can actually read any of it however, C moves from sitting politely beside you to completely shoved against your side to read it as well.

“Curious, C?” You tease quietly. _At least being annoying is still something I can do easily._

Their flower garland turns orangish but they don’t tear their eyes away from the pages “fuck off, lemme read this.”

You both devote your attention to the words written inside. The first page mostly reiterated what was in the letter - time/space, your duty inside the underground, and a brief introduction to what you may encounter while down there. At the bottom of the page was a table of contents. _Wow, what a try-hard._ You realize that you just called yourself a try-hard.

With a mental shrug, you decide that it’s true.

The second page details a lot of things about souls. Most of it is in your writing, but there are points where someone else has written things. The other writing is mostly about some sort of technical jargon you don’t understand so you skip a large portion of it. The page beside it is titled “Combat”.

“There’s a section on fighting?”

“Battles down here are based a lot on the honour system.” C says to you quietly “Something _humans_ don’t have.” As far as you knew, C _was_ human, but in the end, maybe that gave them more of a reason to say it than anyone else.

There is a lot of information on the page and try as you might, you can’t make sense of all of it. There is a small section on magical effects ( _which can change the colour of a soul? sounds fake but ok)_ and another on some of the different types of projectiles monsters may send out. In the margin you’ve scrawled “monster magic is different depending on when it is used (battle vs normal)” which makes sense. Or at least, it doesn’t _not_ make sense, so whatever. On the back of the page, there is more on how monster magic may affect your soul. This one is much detailed than the first, and you can only read through the first few sentences before it makes your head swim. There is a full-page more about fighting monsters, this one focuses entirely on how to give (or get) mercy. It seems a lot more in line with what you had been expecting from a pacifist mission to save an entire nation of people. C audibly scoffs at it once they see it, but if you looked hard enough, you think you can see relief at just how extensive it is. But then again, you can only see about half of their face so perhaps you are just projecting. Who knows.

You flip the page trying to remember what the list from the first page had said would be next. It is, in fact, a jot-notes like retelling of Frisk’s trip through the underground. Reading it feels like remembering a dream. You only get about halfway through it however, because C makes some noise of annoyance and retracts themself from your shoulder.

“Are you alright?”

“Just bored of reading the things that I’ve lived more times than I can count.”

“Do you think you could tell it better than it is in here?” You gesture to the notebook, still open on your lap.

They scoff. “Are you kidding me? I could do it in my sleep.”

“So do it.” You challenge them without thinking.

“Can’t.” They lean back. “I’m sleeping.”

“I’d say to sleep when you’re dead, but …” You trail off, hoping that that wasn’t too macabre of a joke.

It wasn’t. C’s laughter rings out loud against the mostly quiet room and draws some chuckles out of you as well. “Oh man, Frisk was never this funny.”

“So I guess me not being Frisk has an upside?”

“Yea,” They snort rather loudly between guffaws, “Hopefully we won’t have to go through any “Frisky Business”.”

You assume that this is the source of the _Frisky B_ nickname you have been given. “What sort of Frisky Business?”

C floats to the end of the bed and gives you a look that reminds you of Monique, getting ready to spill the deets from her latest escapade. “Once,” They pause for effect, “Frisk flirted with Toriel on the way into the ruins - and when they got here, Frisk asked to call her 'Mom'.” They stop to wheeze out a few more laughs before continuing. “Oh god, kid, you have no idea how hilarious that run was.”

That sets you off laughing again but you managed to get a question out before succumbing completely. “Did they flirt with anyone else?”

“They wouldn’t have earned their nickname if they hadn’t. They even flirted with _Jerry_ once.” You have no idea who this Jerry person is, but you assume that they make Frisk’s achievement all the more hilarious.

 

 _What a weird kid… What weird_ kids _. Both C and Frisk._

 

Your laughing gets interrupted by the sound of your stomach hungrily gurgling.

“Shouldn’t you do something about that?” C asks between laughs.

In response, you slid off the bed and onto the floor, leaning forward to pick up the previously untouched piece of pie. You turn to ask C if they want a bite before remembering that they can’t actually eat it.

 

_It would probably be rude to ask if they can’t say yes, even if they wanted to._

 

You elect to tell a joke instead - “Hey C, why did the pie go to the doctor? It was feeling _pretty crummy_!” - and eat it while they watch in shocked silence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just can't believe frisk would flirt with _jerry_ of all people.  
>  come tell me how disbelieveing you are @ my tumblr, scary-sans.tumblr.com


	13. I Promise to Show You the Stars, But I Can't do that if We are Stuck Down Here.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> this one is not as good as some of the others i think ??
> 
> anyway, this is the one where you tell tori why you're in the underground

You, had been here for three days already. Sure, you had a job to do, but you also had some recovering to do - and some adjusting to the reality of your situation.

_Stuck in the Underground by some sort of magical barrier that can only be broken with the power of seven human souls. Which is crazy and impressive. And I have no help on how I’m supposed to do that._

The notebook you had made was super extensive. In the section labeled “extras” there was even a snail pie recipe that would “Make any goat monster weep with joy”, but there was nothing in there on how to actually _break_ the barrier. You decided to not think about that until you are much closer to it in the first place. 

According to the map - which you’d really need to ask Toriel to help you fill (it was just so _empty_ ) - you were several day’s walk away from it. The main thing on your mind now, beyond getting used to being in the Underground, was how to get out of the Ruins. They were bigger than you had once thought, and you were sure there would be some sort of a door out if you just looked hard enough.

Toriel hadn’t let you move around much on your first day. You didn’t really mind, the aftereffects of the earlier events left you pretty shellshoked and staying in bed helped. The second day, you wanted to explore a little. Although Toriel’s house was also larger than you expected, you decided to explore some of the surrounding area first. With C’s help, you managed to survive every encounter that you had. There had been some seriously adorable Froggits, a Vegetoid who was willing to share their lunch with you, and even a shy, but kindly ghost. The notebook had outlined a few different ways to get out of each encounter peacefully, and to you they were almost second nature. C had encouraged you to heckle and berate every monster you came across, but at least they weren’t pushing you to fight back, right?

The ghost, named Napstablook, told you that while they spent a lot of time in the Ruins, they actually lived much further in, in a place called Waterfall. You had been considering asking them if they would be able to help you get out of the Ruins, but they had already disappeared. 

Today though, you were exploring Tori’s house. Sure you’d had a cursory glance around but you hadn’t taken the time to really inspect anything. You had gone through nearly all of the room Tori was letting you _stay_ in (You refused to think of it as anything but being borrowed), but there was a whole house to go through. Eventually, more because of C’s curiosity than your own, you first entered what you knew was Toriel’s room.

C drops to the ground and almost immediately starts poking their nose into Tori’s things. You have a brief argument with yourself over whether to tell them to stop or join in, before coming to a middle ground where you just _watch_ them do all the snooping. While C focused on the things atop her desk, you pause to look at her chair. It is _very_ well crafted.

“That’s Toriel’s small chair,” They look up at you grinning. You can feel a bad joke coming on, “its name is _Chairiel._ ”

That was _terrible_ , and even worse, you snort while laughing at it. In order to hide your embarrassment, you ask what the open book on her desk said. C laughed at you (and the joke, no doubt) for a few seconds before obliging and reading the aforementioned book.

“Did you hear the tale of the haunted refrigerator? It was certainly _chilling!_ ”

“There’s no way she wrote that down! It’s awful!” Despite how bad a pun it may be, you are still wheezing through your laughter.

C laughs almost as much as you before telling you that the rest of the page is filled with jokes of a similar caliber.

“Are you alright in there, my child?” Toriel’s voice harshly cuts through your laughter from somewhere near the livingroom and the comfortable mood is ruined.

"I'm fine," You call back. Both you and C leave the desk to take one last look around.

You are drawn to the cactus in the corner. Bending down to look at it, you notice that there seems to be some ooze near the base. It looks _familiar,_ you reach out a hand to touch it and -

“Ah!”

C drops down beside you. “A cactus.”

You stick your freshly pricked finger in your mouth.

“The most tsundere of plants,” C teases you.

“Don be roul!” You realize your finger is still in your mouth and remove it quickly, then point it at the plant. “I-I mean, don’t be rude. Besides, look at it. It’s _oozing_.”

C spins to look faster than you thought humanly possible. They gasp a little when they see that you are right. “I think you just found the first piece, Frisky.”

 _First piece… do the mean their soul? It would make sense, the cactus is giving off that weird goopy shit, but it’s a_ cactus. _Shouldn’t a soul shard ya know, look like a soul?_

“C’mere, I need your help getting it out from underneath the plant.”

 _Oh. So it_ isn’t _the cactus. Good to know._

“What do you need me to do?” You’re now about as close as you possible can be without touching it. The needles beckon to you.

C looks a little confused, almost as much as you usually are _(it’s a general state)_. “Uhm, I guess I’ll pick up the cactus and then you check the dirt?”

“Won’t that hurt, though?” You had just _one_ needle in your finger. A whole hand full of them did not sound fun.

“Uhhhhhm well, I can’t feel pain?” They shake a hand gently, mostly opaque, but you can still sort of see the room beyond them. “So I’ll just grab it. I guess.”

As you watch, totally enamored, they do just that, taking the cactus and prying it loose from the soil. You can tell they are being gentle, but they are focusing so much on being solid enough to grab it that you worry they may accidentally crush it.

“Well, c’mon Frisk, get on with it!”

“Uhh, yea. S-sorry.” You stutter out before reaching your hand into the pot. It takes a moment, but you wrap your hand around something small and pulsing. C is watching you, you think. Those flowers kinda block any sort of visual connection you could have had. Quickly, you pull it out and C replaces it with the cactus.

Opening your hand, you see it. This shard is not giving off as much of the black shit as the first one, and it’s a little smaller. C is close beside you, but doesn’t make any motions to touch their soul themself.

_Maybe I should put the pieces back together?_

You grab the previously gotten shard from your pocket ( _Your pocket? Seriously? No respect._ _)_ and hold it to the piece you have just received. With a cautious glance at C, you shove them together.

…

Nothing happens, other than they won’t come apart. With a shrug you pocket the soul again and leave Toriel’s room.

“Where to next?” C floats behind you in the hallway.

You shrug at them. “I don’t know. We can check the basement I guess?’

They pull a flower from their garland and gesture for you to lead the way. The both of you pass through the hallway and into the entryway. The stairs tempt you. You give in and descend.

It’s a large hallway, underneath Toriel’s house, made out of the same stone as the rest of the Ruins. Instead of the comforting feeling of autumn, you get an ominous feeling from being down here.

_Almost like the start of a bad time._

You reach the end of the hallway unceremoniously, all that awaits you is a pile of rubble. You and Chara shrug at each other before going back upstairs. Whatever you had thought would be down there, it wasn’t you had found.

“Hey C, wanna go for a walk later? I wanna wander some more of the Ruins.” You ask them as you re-enter the main house. They give you a look that you’ve come to recognize as meaning “I-don’t-have-any-choice-in-the-matter-so-whatever”. 

* * *

You lie on the flowers. They are just as plush as before and if it wasn’t for all the adrenaline in your system, you’d be falling asleep. The walk here had been short now that you know the way, but getting past all the puzzles on your own had been more than a little exhilarating. Beside you, you feel the flowers shift and then a tiny sigh. C lays with their feet to your head, also looking up at the hole you fell into.

“The stars must be so beautiful tonight.”

“ … You can see the stars from here, Frisko. Can’t you tell if they are pretty or not?”

“No.” A hum steals itself from your lips. “Can you tell if a whole batch of cookies is good based on a single crumb?”

They have nothing to say to that.

A heady silence falls over the two of you, the only sound is your breathing. You want to stay quiet, even inside your head. No outrageous thoughts, just peace. It’s hard, but you manage to do it by focusing on remembering the lullaby Toriel had been singing to herself earlier.

_Peaceful._

After an unknown amount of time, you realize that you have begun to hum it. More time passes before you realize that C has started humming it as well. Neither of you stops and you lose focus of everything except the stars above and the song in your heart.

The two of you stay like this for what feels like hours, until C’s song fades away and you can’t keep the thought train from leaving the station any longer.

“C?” You decide it’s time to ask the question that had been bugging you for literal days now. “Why did you _give_ me to the flower?”

“Had to.” Well, that certainly wasn’t the type of answer you had been expecting.

“Had to? What the fuck C.” It may be unreasonable for you to expect an apology, but it sure as hell isn’t unreasonable for you to be mad.

They spit their response out like a bad taste. “Look, I _had_ to, okay? Who knows what Toriel would have done to a full grown human if she hadn’t been so busy with _saving_ them.”

Toriel had only shown herself to be compassionate and helpful (and a little smothering, if you were honest.), C’s actions seem totally unnecessary. To say that you are annoyed would be an understatement. “You didn’t need to do that, though, C. Tori has been _nothing_ but caring the entire time we’ve been here.”

“You don’t understand!” They growl at you, but remain stationary, “She could have! She could’ve done something to mess everything up and then it’d all reset and I’d lose my only shot out of here!”

 _That’s so selfish! What about_ my _wellbeing! That asshole had deadly intent and I had never been in a soul fight before!_

You seethe for a few more moments before realizing that you would never have made it through a _real_ encounter without their help. It honestly makes you a little madder.

 _I can’t just tell C to fuck off and try to go on my own, I need their help._ __  
_UGH! What an asshole!_   
Fuck you, past me, you fucking backed me into a corner with this rude ass piece of shit and now I’m stuck here.

You scream a little in your head. It helps you to speak at an even tone when you decide what words to say. “No matter what could have happened, I need to know that you won’t pull shit like that again.  
“I’m just as stuck here as you are, and sure, there may have been the possibility of danger, but since _I’m_ the one doing all the legwork and _I’m_ the one that got hurt. You don’t get to make choices like that for me.” You pause for a moment to collect your thoughts again. “We need each other’s help to get out of here, so we need to trust each other. I _cannot_ trust you if you’re just going to throw me to the dogs, no matter the circumstances.”

_Haha Nice! I managed to be civil! Let’s hope no one can tell that I want to rip their non-existent throat out right now._

C doesn’t say anything for long enough that you zone out on the stars again. The air feels tense, but you do your best to ignore it. At least you got your words out, whatever happens next is up to them.

“I-I won’t apologize. It was what was needed to be done, so I won’t apologize for it. But if it means that much to you, I won’t do it again.” C sounds a lot less confident when they finally break the silence.

You sigh in response _(Why am I sighing so much? Why am I aware of how much I am sighing?)_. It hadn’t been what you wanted, but you get the feeling that this is as close as you would ever get.

“Let’s just … look at the stars again, yeah?” They were uncomfortable with your anger. _Good._ You do let it go however _(for now)_ , and turn your attention heavenward once more.

* * *

The change in the position of the stars is the thing that alerts you to the passage of time. You sit up and look about the cave and see that C is still there, just as before you had fallen asleep. They don’t even notice your movement. Gently, you lay back down.

 _Are they asleep? Wait. Can the dead actually sleep? I mean, we joked about it once, but I’ve never actually seen them do that. They’re never around when I fall asleep or wake up, too worried about getting spotted to be visible.  
__And what’s the deal with that! I mean, I’ve never been down here before but I don’t think being a ghost (maybe) would be that much of a problem. That other ghost, um, Nabstablook? No, uh,_ Nap _stablook. That was their name. Anyway, they were pretty normal about being seen._

The sound of light footsteps rouses you from your thoughts, but when you glance at C beside you, they hadn’t even noticed. You look back and forth between your natural skylight and unaware child beside you until a warm orange glow begins to light up the cavern. Finally, C notices and fades into invisibility.

Still far enough away to be out of your line of sight, Toriel enters the cavern. You hear a tiny gasp and assume that she has spotted you. “Little One! Are you alright?”

Lazily, you raise a hand to wave her over, but don’t sit up. She quickly comes to your side, her eyes giving you a once-over.

“What are you doing, my child?”

_I am now just realizing, I never told her my name. In my defense, she never asked._

“I’m watching the stars.” You point up at the whole, before turning to look at Toriel. She isn’t looking at you, she’s looking up.

You think she might cry. “I-I didn’t know the stars are visible from here.”

Humming in response, you gently pull her down onto the flowers beside you. She pulls you into a weird hug that reminds you of being a small child. Your head is tucked underneath Toriel’s chin. It makes you feel small and safe.

 _I … Mom …_  


Your mother had taken you to sit under the stars one day before things got bad. You try to forget it, though, because, well, it’s easier to live through the bad times if you don’t remember the good ones.

“I want you to see them for real, one day.” You aren't crying, but your voice is tight.

Underneath you, beside you, all around you, Toriel sobs a little.

“My Mama took me to see them once. On top of a hill, in the middle of winter, just like it is now. We lived far enough north to see the Northern Lights.” You pull your arms out of the embrace and raise them above you in order to try and explain them. It doesn’t really work, but hopefully, Toriel will see them for herself one day. “It was cold, but she brought blankets and a big thermos full of hot cocoa. We stayed there for hours.”

There are tears falling from your cheeks now, to match the ones coming from Toriel. “It was so beautiful. One day…”

She squeezes you. You’ve only just met her, but you can feel all sorts of love pouring out from Toriel’s heart. “One day I’m going to watch them with you too.”

Sure, you knew that saving the underground was an important thing, but now - now you felt personally invested in getting them out. You’re determined. You are so determined nothing could stop you now. “That’s why I’m here you know? That’s my job. To get everyone out.”

“W-what?” Toriel croaks out between sick hiccups and gasps of breath.

“Yeah!” You’ve stopped crying, now a grin rests on your face. “I don’t understand it, hell, Mama, I don’t even know how I know it, but that’s my job.”

You readjust yourself to look up at Toriel and find her watery eyes trained on you. You can barely hear it, but somewhere, C is humming the lullaby again.

 _She looks so … intense. I really hope she understands. I hope she can feel_ my _intensity._

“I’ll get you out. I promise.”

“You do?” 

“I do.”

“Well, I believe you, Child.”

“Thanks Mama.” You chuckle a little. Then you realize you called her “Mom.”

_I - shit - I don’t think that was the first time either!_

You push yourself up from the peaceful moment. “I-I’m so sorry, Toriel! I, uh, I must have just gotten caught up in the moment, I didn’t mean to d-”

Toriel laughs brightly, cutting you off. There is no malice, only love and joy making you feel warmer than you should with the winter winds filtering in from above. “Do not worry, Little one. You are not the first to do that, and I doubt you will be the last.”

Her eyes fix upon the stars above, “I believe you, and I know you can do it. I can see it in your soul.”

You hug the giant furry woman. She pulls you in tightly, and you can feel more teardrops hit the top of your head.

  
In the distance, C’s lullaby fades away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, I've been able to get out of this so far, but now is the time to ask. So would you, the reader, prefer:  
> 1\. to remain namless (ex: He asked your name, so you told him.),  
> 2\. have a blank name (ex: He asked your name. "My name is _____," You tell him.)  
> 3\. Have a nickname, which would likely be decided by reader vote (ex: He asked your name, so you gave him one. "You can call me 'insert nickname'!")  
> Just becuase Chara calls the reader "Frisky" doesn't mean anybody else will either!
> 
> If you could leave your vote in the comments, that would be great! (if ur voting for #3, please leave a nickname suggestion, it'll make that easier for me l8r thnx)


	14. When You Realize Those Fears Are Not Your Own, Then You'll Come to Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Goodbye Mama

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also almost 100 kudos and over 1000 hits?? boy howdy i die :* :* :*

_It’s raining, and we are in a large car._  
_We’re in the back, alone, but all the seats in the front are filled._  
_Why are we alone?_  
_What happened?_  
_Why won’t you tell us?_  
_Why won’t you explain?_  
_The rain is coming down harder and harder. I think it means to drown us._  
_The car has stopped moving._  
_I open up the door, and we take off running._  
_The rain is everywhere, why is there so much rain? Why is there so much water?_  
_It’s coming up over our heads!_  
_Help! Someone please! Help us!_

You shoot up, panting. The sudden action sends dozens of semi-transparent flower petals flying. There are so many that your vision is blocked.

_Flowers?_

You remember coming back with Toriel, why would there be flowers all around you? They spin in the air for a moment before vanishing . Now you can see that you are indeed back in your borrowed room. The flowers must have come from C, by process of elimination.

“C?” Your voice is much too shaky, what had you been dreaming about? All you can remember is the scent of rain.

“Uh, y-yeah?” They are floating beside the bed, another of those yellow flowers in their hands. Two petals have already been pulled off.

You shift your eyes between them and the object in their grasp. _Caught em red handed._ “Whatcha doing there, C?”

“C-covering you up.” They had obviously not noticed your sleeping distress. “I got tired of looking at your dumb face.”

Or maybe they had? You remember how yesterday when you had confronted them, they were totally uncomfortable with dealing with _your_ emotions, let alone their own.

 _Maybe they just decided that not seeing it would be the same as it not happening? It’s not like I can blame them for that, I used to do that all the time too. Plus, C is still just a kid.  
__I don’t know_ how long _they’ve been a kid for, but they are obviously still just a lil' twerp._

“Well, okay.” You push yourself up from the bed and stretch. “Do you have any idea where Tori is? I wanna talk to her, I think it’s about time we move on.”

The floating child drops a few inches and their face screws up. “I’m not your watchdog, check for yourself!”

You finish your stretches, stick your tongue out at C, and exit the room. The pajamas Toriel had also lent you were very comfortable, but you had to return them. And literally everything else she had given you to use while you were with her? There was a change of clothes, a new notebook, these pajamas, and a very nice pencil set which was completely confusing. How did artist grade pencils end up wherever you are? Well whatever, you had to return them. You wouldn’t feel right taking them, especially when you had this exact set back home.

“Toriel?” You call out. There is no immediate answer so you take a moment to fix up your hair in the hall mirror. It’s still you, just with some massive bedhead. _Ugh._ “Hey, Tori? Are you home?”

You hear something clatter in the direction of the kitchen and then Toriel answers you “I’m making breakfast, dear. Ah yes! That reminds me, would you prefer coffee or tea?”

“Tea” You respond automatically while walking to join her. “You didn’t have to that for me. Uh, thank you, though.”

The smells in the kitchen are heavenly. Did she make pancakes? How does a monster make pancakes, where would they get the ingredients? _Actually…_ You decide to make a mental list of things that make no sense. This is item number one.

Toriel points to one of the table heads and puts a teapot and mug within reach. You, a hungry and sleepy mess, sit down without any resistance. Sure she didn’t _have_ to make you breakfast but she _did_. Couldn’t let it go to waste, that’d be plain rude.

 _The pancakes are best with chocolate sauce. _ How did they know that?

_How’d you know that?_

_Chocolate is the best? Literally how did_ you _not know that._

You have no response, so instead you shove your face full of this delicious home cooked breakfast. The chocolate sauce does actually make it better? If it was heaven before it is double heaven now.

Sure Toriel had made you food for literally every meal you’d had while being here, but this one felt more important. You wonder if she knows of your plan to move on from the Ruins. What was the next place called again, Snowdin? You’ll look over the notebook again before leaving, to make sure you’re 100% ready. Weren’t you supposed to meet someone in Snowdin? Someone important?

Your sleep addled brain cannot process much other than taste right now so you put those thoughts aside. Maybe some tea would help wake you up. You look to Toriel for permission to pour yourself some and notice she hasn’t even eaten yet.

“Uh, don’t hold back on my account, Tori. This food is too delicious just to watch someone else eat.” That … wasn’t the most eloquent way to put it.

She just chuckles at you, “Oh, don’t worry child. I will eat.”

_She just wants to make sure you’ve had enough first. _

_Why?_

_It’s a “Mom” thing apparently. I wouldn’t know. _

_Me either._ You pour yourself some tea. That had been a lie. Or a half truth? Whatever, you knew mothers were supposed to be caring. Yours just wasn’t. But going so far as being caring towards another person’s fully-grown child? That just struck you as strange.

You gulp down the tea. It’s strong and still hot. Familiar - but you’re fairly certain you’ve never had this particular kind before. You pour yourself another mug full and go back to eating.

These breakfasts have been the best you’ve had in a very long time.

You’re just putting the dishes in the sink to wash later when Toriel asks you what you plan to do next. You turn from the counter back to the table where she is still sitting.

“I know you that do not intend to stay here, child. Your … _mission_ will require you to go very far in a dangerous place, but I believe you already know that. There is a lot of knowledge you have that seems abnormal, but I think that has only fueled your determination.  
“I cannot do much for you, my place is here in the Ruins, but I will not send you off unprepared.” She looks like she might cry. C is whispering from somewhere near you that she’s never reacted like _this_ before. You’re just glad to have some support.

“I have a map, but it is mostly blank. I was going to ask for your help in filling it in anyways…” You swear that she simultaneously looks sadder and happier, separately. “It’s uh, in a whole notebook full of things. If you could look that over and add stuff that you think it may be missing that would be really really great Toriel.”

“Of course, little one. Anything you require.”

With a nod you return to your room and grab your backpack from the floor. You rummage around in it for a moment before pulling out the notebook. _C? Do you think we should ask for something to keep your soul in?_

 _No, She wouldn’t have anything anyways. _ They are still invisible but it’s nice to know they came with you.

_Although, I suppose they have too, right? I mean, I’ve got their soul. Can’t get too far away from that. It’s still nice to not be alone, though._

You shiver at the thought of being alone here.

_That sounds … a lot more terrifying than I think it would have been before falling down to the Underground._

You return to Toriel and pass her the notebook. She opens it to the first page and nods at your neat index. There is a moment where she just scans the lines and looks a little lost. It hits you that there is information _about_ her written in a few different sections. You hadn’t even considered the fact that she was in there. In reality, you had completely forgotten about the retelling of a human named Frisk’s journey through the Underground. Perhaps giving the notebook to Toriel was a bad idea?

_Uh, C, I think I might have messed up._

_What did you do. _

_Gave Tori the notebook._ You hope they understand your meaning.

 _Unless you can take it back from her, there isn’t really anything you can do now. Haven’t _ **Saved** _yet so_ **Loading** _is out of the question._

“Uhh, the map is on pages four and five. I think that that’s all I really need your help with right now, actually.?” You try not to sound mean about literally changing your mind about getting her help, but you don’t know what reading about an alternate version of herself would cause her to do.

Toriel doesn’t question it and opens to the proper pages. After a moment of total silence (other than your heart pounding nervously), you watch Toriel shift and pull a pencil from a hidden pocket. She hastily marks something down, and then another, and another. It continues like this for at least five minutes before Toriel realizes you are still in front of her.

“Ah, my apologies. I was distracted by filling in the gaps in the map. Perhaps you would like to take a shower? I will wash your clothes and have some ready for you by the time you get out.”

A shower did sound really nice. “Uh, sure, thank you.” She closes the notebook and heads to the hall. The silence between you feels a little awkward, but neither of you tries to say anything. You break off into your room to grab the rest of your clothes, and she disappeared to wherever to she kept the towels. You wondered where she kept everything instead of a hall closet _(but that isn’t any of my business anyways)_.

_I wonder where I should put C’s soul. Normally it just stays in my pocket but, I doubt a washing machine is a good place for it. Uhm.  
I guess I’ll just put it on my phone and then just deal with C’s complaints later. Oh god, I can just imagine it. _

You opt to just leave it in a side pocket of your backpack and rejoin Tori in the hall. She trades you, your dirtied clothing for a fresh towel.

The shower is mostly uneventful, other than giving you the time to sort out your thoughts. You make a list of what you need to do before you leave. 

  1. Make sure Tori will be alright/Convince her to leave the ruins?? (Staying here alone really cannot be good for her health?? She really needs to get out more)
  2. Pack up belongings (ask about maybe getting some extra food)
  3. Go over notes and map
  4. Say goodbye to the last of the sky



When you exit the hot stream of water (item two on the “how the fuck does it work” list), you see that all of your clothing has been washed, folded, and is sitting on the counter for you. That is so nice of her, you can’t help but love the woman. Calling her mom yesterday is still pretty embarrassing, but jeez, she deserves it more and more. At least you think? The whole idea of a caring parental figure is pretty weird for you.

You slip into the clean clothing and head to your borrowed room to pack up the rest. The room itself has been tidied but your backpack sits untouched at the foot of the bed. At least you don’t have to worry about C’s soul being seen. You don’t have much with you that isn’t already in the backpack so it doesn’t take long to pack up everything your belongings. You keep the clothing at the bottom, then mobile chargers for your phone (which is currently off to preserve power), your few remaining snacks, and on top goes your phone. You zip up the bag and take one last look around the room. It had been nice to you while you stayed in it. C fades into existence beside you.

“Finally leaving huh? ‘Bout time, staying here so long hasn’t done us any good.”

“Toriel is willing to help us. Doesn’t that count for something?” You ask C softly while putting their soul back in your pocket. Honestly, though, starting to progress really did feel good, but being here had _also_ been good.

They shift on their feet (while several inches above the floor) before answering. “Yeah, I guess. How’d you do that anyways, Frisky? The only time I can think of where we left on such good terms with her, Frisk had fallen while still being basically a toddler. And Toriel had guilted herself into coming with. Man, that run was _weird_.” They shake their head softly, remembering something you can’t even imagine.

“Welp,” You pull the focus back to something you both can understand. “Guys it’s time to go ask Mama how to get out of here.”

C sputters for a moment. “Mama? Haha! I guess you really aren’t that different from Frisk.” They laugh at you while fading away until all that's left is the lingering sound of you being teased. You slowly make your way back to Toriel in the main room. Although it may be weird, you take the time to say a sort of “goodbye” to everything in the halls. You get the feeling you won’t be coming back here for a very long time.

When you get there, you see Tori sitting in her chair reading a book with a snail on the front. Your notebook is sitting on the table, apparently finished. Toriel notices you entering and stands up quickly. _She looks kinda nervous about something._

“Ah, my child! I have finished with your map. It may not be completely up to date, as I am going off of memory, but it is no doubt going to be much more useful for you now.” She grabs it from the table and passes it to you. As you flip to the proper page, you can’t help but wonder if while you were busy, Toriel read the rest of the things in there. It’s too late now, though, so you let that thought drift away.

The map, now filled in, looks amazing. Like a real map - not one drawn on lined paper in a coiled ring school standard notebook. There is a legend on the side with icons for a hotel, restaurant, and shop. All three are present in Snowden, and the rest are scattered throughout the Underground. There is a section, near Waterfall, that Toriel had to add completely. It is labeled “Tem Village”. You have no idea what a “Tem” is.

_C?_

_What. _

_What is a Tem? I don’t think there is anything about them anywhere in here._

_Uhhh. That isn’t really a question you want answered._

_Why._

_Look, let’s just never hope we meet one, alright? _

Well, you can’t argue with that. Chara being uncomfortable talking about them was a bad sign, but the fact that there was an apparent village of "Tems" was not exactly confidence boosting. You'd just have to hope and pray you don't run into one.

Toriel pulls you out of your thoughts by putting something else in your hands. It's small, gray, and metal. A … cellphone? But, you already have one! You can’t take this! “I already have a phone, Toriel, I can’t take this from you!”

She chuckles at you before pulling a matching one from her pocket. “I have one too, my dear. I doubt your surface phone will work down here, so this one is so that you can keep in contact. My number is already in it! Don’t worry, it isn’t a _phone_ -y.”

You both spend a good minute laughing once you realize the pun. Her support… with Toriel’s support, you’re sure that nothing could stop you now. You feel a surge in determination - stronger than anything else you’ve ever felt. Which is kind of weird when you think about it, but whatever, everything is pretty weird in general (it gets the elusive third spot on your things-that-don’t-make-sense list).

Your progress has been  **Saved.**

_What?_

_Nothing, doesn’t really matter yet. I’ll explain later. _ You decide to make C the fourth item on the list.

You wonder for a moment if there is anything you are forgetting, going through your mental checklist.

_Oh! I still have to give back the rest of the things she lent me!_

“All the stuff you lent me is sitting on the bed I borrowed. Thank you for letting them use it while I was here.” You aren’t sure what to do with yourself while you talk, so you hold your hands together.

She gives you a look confusion. “Those are meant for you to keep, little one.” Toriel darts into the hallway and returns a moment later with the small pile of things belonging to you. Apparently. When you go to object, that you can’t take these, she gives you a patented “Mom” look that shuts you up. Under her watchful eyes, you repack your bag. It is a little heavier now, and there isn’t much more empty space. Right as you finish that, her eyes light up and she runs to the kitchen.

_So much running today. This is like highschool track all over again._

Toriel returns with a complete pie. It’s small enough to fit in your bag, but jeez. A whole pie! You might cry at how nice she is being. With silent thanks, you gently put it in your backpack, on top of everything else.

“Well, it is time for you to get going, child.” Toriel gently takes hold of your shoulders and begins to push you towards her front door.

“Uhm, okay.” You really didn’t feel ready to go yet, but if she wanted you to leave there isn’t much you can do against that.

_I’ve been imposing for several days now. If she thinks I’m ready then I should listen. I guess._

You quickly put your outer gear back on, and put the notebook back in its proper place. She then leads you out of her home, back into the Ruins. You silently say goodbye to everything you see, while still trying to follow closely behind. There are a few quick turns, and you can feel yourself leaving familiar territory. In the dirt on the side of the path, you can see a small toy knife. You fight down a shiver and run to catch up to Toriel, who hadn’t slowed at all.

The pair of you walk for what feels like an hour, but that’s probably just your anxious mind. Moving forward is a scary concept, but you aren’t going to back down now. Or ever, hopefully. Toriel comes to an abrupt halt and you accidentally walk into her back.

“We are here child. This is where we must part ways.” You lean to the side to look past her. There is a rather small door built into the purple walls, and you can feel a cold breeze coming from behind it.

“Where -”

“Outside this door is a small path, but it leads to the main road from the Ruins to Snowdin. Just follow it and you will be there in no time, Child.” Her brisk manner is honestly starting to make you feel like she’s trying to get rid of you.

 _She just doesn’t want to get any more attached to you than she already is. In case you … fail. _ You both know that C means “Die”.

_But I’m not going to!_

_She doesn’t know that. _

You sigh. “Are you sure you want to stay here Toriel? The Ruins must get pretty lonely.” You already know what she’s going to say.

"Do not worry about me. Someone has to take care of these flowers" Toriel pulls you into a hug, coming to kneel down with you. You hold her tight, _Mama, please stay safe for me._ She may not be your birth mother, and you may have only known her for a short time but good god did you love her. You really do hope that nothing happens to her.

…

You aren’t even sure why you’re worried. The Ruins have proven themself to be totally safe for the powerful monster before you - but you are worried all the same.

“Stay safe Child. I believe in you.” You’re still in Toriel’s arms, but you can feel her move around. Suddenly, the cold air around you is even stronger and -

You are sitting on your butt in the snow. There is a purple door in front of you, closed. And you can hear soft sobs and furry feet run away from the door.

“Frisko, you gotta get up.” C tells you from somewhere behind you. They grab your backpack and pull you up by it. You’re still staring at the door in shock. “C’mon kid, get moving. Snow is bad for people who are still alive.”

Now standing, you notice floating above you, brushing snow off your head. You turn your head up to look at them and get a face full of ghost-hand. You sputter for a moment talking “What?”

“It’s time to get moving. I’ve never actually been through here before, normally we take a different route, but this should still take us to the right place.”

“What place? C what just happened?”

“Snowdin, duh” They shake their head at you. There is a pause, where you would expect them to answer your other question, but they don’t say anything else.

With a silence falling over you both, you take a moment to take in your new surroundings. This appears to be the edge of a forest of huge pine trees. Like massive to such a degree that you can’t make out the tops in the darkness of the cavern. Which leads you to your second point, you’re now in a massive cavern. _Huh. Welcome to the Underground, I guess._ There is a path, straight through the trees, but after a few steps it seems to get totally dark.

You get the feeling that straying from the path would be a very bad time. 

“So, are we going to get moving, or what?” C’s garland has turned a wilting brown. You have no idea what it means, but there is nothing stopping you now so…

“Yeah, let’s go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey just a reminder ?? to please vote ?? so im going ot restate those and if you haven't voted yet please do.
> 
>  1. to remain namless (ex: He asked your name, so you told him.),  
> 2\. have a blank name (ex: He asked your name. "My name is _____," You tell him.)  
> 3\. Have a nickname, which would likely be decided by reader vote (ex: He asked your name, so you gave him one. "You can call me 'insert nickname'!")
> 
> There have been two suggestions so far for a nickname: "B" and "Det", feel free to suggest any more!


	15. Meming up with the Bonedashians

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> this chapter was guest titled because i hated the original title  
> also this is the entrance of everybody's fav bone people, the royal dog crew.  
> :*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> also i have a running tally of votes. they probably won't come into play for a while so w/e  
> also there is a thing in this chapter. a thing being a flashback of meeting flowey. it probably counts as ptsd (im not sure?) anyways, just like, be aware of that.

The trees around you are huge. You’ve only been walking a few minutes but they are already blocking out what little light came from the cave walls. C floats above your shoulder, again lying on their back to watch the canopy. It’s hard to ignore the fact that their flowers are wilting, but you have no idea what it means.

“Hey C, where’s the light source in here?”

They stop moving and flip themself over to look at you. “How should I know?”

You decide to ignore the annoyance in their voice and just shrug. “Well, seeing as I’ve never been here before, and you certainly have, just figured you’d have a better idea.”

“Well I don’t” Their flowers stay wilted, but become a colour like dried blood.

“O-oh okay.” You force your eyes back onto the path in front of you. Whatever they are feeling, whatever they are going through, they obviously don’t want your help.

That hurts a little, you only want to _help_ them, but at the same time you don’t want to touch whatever that is with a ten-foot pole. You get the feeling that whatever is bothering them is way more than you can handle anyways. You’ve only just met Chara, and they still wouldn’t even let you use their name - just some sort of nickname - means that you obviously don’t know anything about anything. You wouldn’t be of any use anyways. Involuntarily you hunch your shoulders down and watch your feet push through the light snow.

The path in front of you winds around a curve, just a few feet in front of you. The trees look to be a little closer together there and the forest gets even darker.

 

_Don’t like the dark. Don’t like it, don’t like it, don’t like it._

 

You keep walking, there isn’t much else you can do. Maybe because it’s because your childhood fear is back, or maybe it’s just your anxiety acting up, but you can’t get it out of your head that someone is watching you.

The trees around you are so tall now that any branches that are on your height level are dead. Their wood is black and broken, and the lichen that grows there is just as dreary. It’s a stark contrast from the comforting aura of the Ruins. You miss Toriel’s warmth more than ever. Had it really only been a handful of minutes?

You and C travel in silence and half darkness for a fair time, before your tiny path joins up with a larger one. _I guess this is the main path to Snowdin she was talking about?_ You don’t readily walk onto it however and C doesn’t go forward either. Out there, right in the way of the main path, is a huge stick, it looks to be almost the same size as you. It might make a good walking stick, or even as some sort of defense if it wasn’t so big. You look both ways _(Just in case! Who knows what could be coming this way)_ before running out onto the main path.

“What are you doing?” C hovers down to eye level and watches you grab the large stick.

You pick it up easily. Despite it’s size, the stick is rather light. “Want it.” You say simply.

 

_It’s still a little big though._

 

You gently put the stick back on the ground and walk around it a few times. Above you, C doesn’t say anything. Who knows if they are even paying attention to what you are even doing. There is a moment of silent prayer in hopes that this works so that you don’t look stupid. But then the moment is over, and you jump on the stick.

 

_**CRACK** _

 

The branch breaks easily, much to your quiet relief. You pick it up and admire your handiwork.

“Why’d you do that?” They don’t sound interested in your reasoning.

You decide that you too don’t care enough to give it any good reasoning. “It was too big.”

The path, which you are now free and willing to walk on, goes in two directions. It’s mostly straight though, so you can tell which way leads back to the Ruins and which goes to Snowdin. Plus, the gaps in the canopy are large enough to let a good amount of light filter to the forest floor. It’s almost enough to make you feel safe. _Almost._

You turn to the right and start walking. The stick feels comfortable in your hands and you can feel your steps being filled with confidence. Nothing interesting happens while you walk.

“Huh.” You pause for a moment and lean on your stick while looking around. There’s nothing.

C, who was floating on their back and pulling petals off innocent ghost flowers, also stops. “What is it _now_ , Frisky.”

You shrug. “Nothing, I guess. Just had a feeling that something should have happened by now.”

They roll over to look you in the eyes, “Really?” You nod at your upside-down companion. “That means you’re beginning to remember other timelines. Huh.”

C flips back over, signalling the end of the conversation. In the still silence of the forest you can hear them mutter about things might finally be getting _interesting_.

 

 _Eh. Might be cool to have an_ interesting _life. Interesting can be good, right?_

 

There is still empty path in front of you, just waiting to be walked. You don’t want to keep it waiting any longer, and so you walk.

The path is still pretty straight, and you can see some sort of landmark in your way long before you come to it. It all seems brighter there, perhaps there is another gap in the tree canopy? Every time you try to look into the trees to your left and right, ideas pop into your head about what sort of horrible things might be awaiting you. _God, it is really really lame to still get the heebie jeebies from the dark._ Doesn’t stop you from quaking in fear whenever you hear a sound that isn’t 100% certain to come from your small party. You push through towards the landmark in the distance. Whatever it is, maybe it would be of some help. Somehow.

 

_It’s a fence?_

 

“C, what is this shit.” The only problem with it is that the vertical planks are much too far apart to stop anyone from passing through, and it’s overtop _(Yes that’s right,_ overtop _)_ a bridge. It’s literally a wall through a hole.

They drop to the ground beside you with a small thud and look out at the bridge/fence combo. “Sorry Frisky B, I know about as much as you do.”

You take a cautious first step into the clearing before it, and when that triggers nothing, you take an equally cautious first step onto the bridge. “Any idea who made it?”

“Uhm, no?” They join you on the precarious (but short) wooden bridge. “Oh wait! Yeah, yeah I do. It was , uhh, I think it was put up by one of the skeletons. The tall one, maybe?”

You remember there being something about skeleton brothers from the notebook (very well in fact, skeleton monsters sound pretty cool) but nothing about one of them being tall? There was one that liked spaghetti and making sure that one always does their best, and the other liked puns and sleeping, comfort above all or something like that.

“Tall?” You’re underneath the wall/fence/thing now. Being this close only raises further questions on its stability.

“Yeah! Tall and kind.” They seem to get lost in their own thoughts. “Wouldn’t hurt a fly, even if it would save the world.” They trail off and grimace. Not nice thoughts, apparently.

You take a step on the next board and it groans, loudly. This causes you to “make a noise of fear” _(squeak like a tiny mouse)_ and jump back, right into C. Through the butterfly effect, this causes them to go completely solid to support you. The added weight of two _(well one and three fourths)_ fully grown humans causes the boards underneath them to creak and moan. Now, as the proper end of this riveting adventure, you both scramble forwards and fall in an undignified heap onto the solid ground, just as the boards break and fall into the dark depths below.

 

_Don’t like heights and/or falling to my death. Don’t like it, don’t like it, don’t like it._

 

You're still there, in that heap, trying to convince yourself that you are still alive almost five minutes later. Which is weird because you’re pretty sure that you are not scared of heights. Which is also weird because you’re pretty sure you could have died right there and you’re taking it surprisingly well.

Weird.

You take a deep breath, then another, and one more before pounding your hand against the solid ground. Once it has proven that yes, it is in fact stable, you shakily use your stick to push yourself up. How had you managed to keep hold of it? Who knows, all you care about is the stability it offers to your steps. Beside you, C remains in a pile of their own limbs.

“Uhm, do you need another minute, or are we good to keep going?”

In response they float themself up to the normal shoulder height and start down the path, still in a ragdoll-esque bundle. Chara seems to be muttering something to themself but all you are able to catch is “take a break at the patrol station”. You want to argue that if they aren’t feeling well that you were fine with taking a break here, but they get far enough away that you are forced to follow before you can say anything.

It’s mostly silent as you follow your dead guide down the path, sans their quiet mumbling. The darkness of the underground wilds around you doesn’t feel as terrifying as before, much to your relief. Even C calms down after a few minutes of travel. You can’t help but wonder if they don’t like heights because of something to do with their death. But then you chastise yourself because _that is seriously none of my business, don’t even think about asking!_

Being away from the large gap in the ground seems to do wonders for them though, the farther you get the better they appear. You even notice that their flowers, your only tool for accurately measuring their emotion, are beginning to go back to normal. _Unwilting isn’t even a word, but that is what they are doing._ Your attention is more on them then on the path in front of you, so it isn’t all that surprising when you accidentally walk into something and fall over.

You push yourself up and out of the snow, trying to figure out what your head connected with. It was a lamp? What is a lamp doing all the way out here? As you inspect this confusing lamp, Chara drops just behind it. “Any idea why this is here?”

“Not a clue, Frisky. I’m fairly certain there was a joke here somewhere, but no one knows it anymore.” C ducks down beside the lamp and to your utter surprise, they are completely hidden by it.

You peek around it to make sure they they’re still visible. “What a conveniently shaped lamp.” For some reason this makes you sad. You laugh at the absurdity, but that doesn’t change the sadness in your heart.

If looking at this weird lamp makes you sad, you decide _not_ to look at it. The path here continues, but it no longer goes straight. You have to wonder what awaits you next, instead of being able to see it. Also in this clearing, there is a wooden … thing. 

 

_Man, sure have been a lot of those around here._

 

“Any ideas on what this thing is, C?” You aks while walking over to it. Its even more shoddily constructed than you thought. The wooden counter looks almost rotted.

 

_Ew_

 

“It’s a patrol station.”

“C? This is not a patrol station.”

“Yeah, it is.”

“C.” You lean over the counter to grab a condiment bottle from inside it and show it to them. “This is _not_ a patrol station.”

They float over to be on the “inside” of the station and you jump over to join them, “Well, the guy who is stationed here doesn’t do much patrolling, only sleeping, so I can’t say you’re _totally_ wrong.”

You scoff at them “As if I would be anything else.”

“You are almost always something else, Frisky.” _Ugh. Timeline jokes._ You decide to ignore them and continue going through the contents of the shoddily constructed stand. There is a moment of complete silence between you before C whispers “Someone is coming.”

You freeze. Hopefully, in your crouched position you wouldn’t be seen by a passerby, but you don’t want to take any chances. C fades back to being unseen and you take this as a hint to really hide. You pull yourself under the counter of the sentry station and try to silence your breathing.

_Who is it?_

_Dunno for sure, but I have some ideas. _ In the distance you can hear the muffled noises of a person talking.  _Ugh. God, it had to be_ this _asshole._

_Uhmm? C? Should I be running?_

_No you’re fine. _  C sighs loudly, well loudly to you at least. They don’t sound impressed but at least C didn’t think the mystery person was a threat.

“-bro, i got it. i’m almost there” C had only told you that there was one person, and yet it sounded like they were having a conversation? There is a pause where you assume the second person is responding. “yeah, i promise to check all your puzzles.”

You can hear the first person clearly, but nothing of the second one. That’s … _confusing._ You decide to stay right where you are for now.

“especially if i find one, i’d never take credit from a _bone_ -ified puzzle master.”

_Puns?_

_UGH. _ You have a feeling that if you could see C right now, they’d look like a petulant child. _Which, they kinda are_ , but that’s beside the point _._

The crunch of snow underfoot betrays the fact that mystery person is probably only a few feet away from you, and yet you still can’t hear their companion. Not even a second set of footsteps!

“and i promise to call you again if i do, don’t worry bro.” _Call again? Oh! They must be on the phone!_ “yeah yeah, seeya later. don’t forget to bring me home some of whatever you make!”

By now it sounds like they are right on top of you, and you are biting a knuckle to keep yourself quiet. There is the noise of clothing being ruffled and then a very audible sigh.

 

 _Man it would be really_ really _nice if they went away so I could get out of here. Oh man oh man it sure would be great if they just le-_

 

Your silent pleading gets cut off by two sharp raps to the wood above you. You don’t scream, thank god, and you don’t do that weird squeaky thing either, _thank fucking god_ , but the surprise makes you jump and knock your elbow against the wood at your back.

There is another sigh and then “you aren’t supposed to knock back, you’re supposed to ask ‘who is there?’ “

“Oh.” You exhale, letting go of the breath you didn’t realize you had been holding.

 

 _If they want to tell jokes, they can’t be all_ that _scary, right?_

 

There are another two raps on the wood but this time, you quietly respond with “Who’s there?”

“anita”

You are beginning to get an idea of who is outside the station. “Anita who?”

“anita you to be frank with me, is there a human in there?”

C’s incessant groaning isn’t doing anything to change your mind. “Yeah.”

There is another sigh and you can’t tell if it is a relieved or annoyed one. You figure now is an appropriate time to joke back. “Knock knock.”

“who’s there?”

“Human.” C’s whining starts to sound like the noises pf the dying. You ignore them.

“human who?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know.” You can’t help but giggle a little. Both at C’s whale noises and the “mystery person’s” loud guffaws.

They quiet down after a moment and then you hear them settle on top of the counter you are under. “alright, i can take the bait and not go _fishing_ for answers. i’m sans. sans the skeleton.”

 

 _I was right! Score one for the human kid! Still, wonder how_ he _knew I was there. And that I was human._

 

You scramble out from your hiding place. The notebook said you could trust him, so you would. “Ah! Hello, Sans!”

_Don’t sound so excited, you’ll regret this later. _

You push through C’s pessimism and smile at the monster in front of you. The skeleton monster is not looking at, he’s focusing on something in his hands. His phone maybe? Anyways, this gives you a good opportunity to take in the fact that he is a walking talking skeleton.

 

_I wonder how he stays together. And how he isn’t freezing out here? Wait, can he feel anything through those bones. AND -_

 

You would have probably kept going for quite a while if Sans hadn’t turned sharply back towards you.

_I didn’t say any of that out loud did i?_

_N_ _o. He doesn’t look happy to see you though._ C was right, despite how hard it is to decode emotion from a rigid(?) skull, you also get the feeling that Sans isn’t happy about meeting you.  His voice sounds weird and deep and it chills you to the bone -  _No. Stop. No puns right now._

“a human huh? thats’s **h i l a r i o u s**.”

You squeak in fear. Completely serious now, you would honestly rather be back on that bridge than be talked to in that voice ever again. "Uh, uhm, m, I-I’m sorry…?”

He watches you for another moment before a grin plasters itsself across his face (You get the feeling that it’s fake though) “nothin’ to be sorry for, kiddo. what’s a human like you doing in the underground anyways?”

_DON’T TELL HIM. _

_He’s going to find out eventually,_ You wonder if Sans heard anything of their sudden yell.

They’re much quieter when they respond. _Look at me._ You watch Chara’s face fade into existence just behind Sans’ shoulder. Somehow, their voice still seems to be coming from right beside your ear. _Does this look like a person willing to compromise?_

It doesn’t.

_Exactly. _

“I’m not really sure?” _lies lies Lies LIES_ “But I am sure that I could use directions to Snowdin. Care to help?”

“chilled? can’t say the same for me, cold goes _right through me_.” His pinprick eye lights watch you carefully for your response.

It was terrible, made you question further question his anatomy, and it felt you’ve heard that one a million times at least, but you give it a good laugh anyways. It would be rude to keep a fellow pun-lover out in the cold right? _Wait C. C wait, c’mon I have something to tell you._

_What. _

_Even though I get the feeling that he’s going to tell me jokes I’m sure I’ve heard before, I think I’ll laugh at them anyways_

_No, Bad Frisky. Fuck you!_  Apparently, they know where this is headed.

 _It would be rude of me to leave him out in the_ cold _and ignore them!_

 _UHGGGGGGH. _ They go back to making dying noises and you do your best to keep your laughter politely contained.

“sure i’ll take you to snowdin, kid. just gotta make a call first.” He pulls a nice cellphone out of his pocket and nods to you. You nod back. No one is sure why.

“hey bro. yeah i know you just started but i figured you’d wanna know right away.” There is a pause while the person on the other side responds, “yeah! i’ll keep ‘em safe until you can get here.”

 

_Wonder if asking about all the ketchup would be insensitive._

 

“what? no. i can still be doing my job of guarding them if we are at grillby’s. like i’m literally doing my job.” Another pause. “yeah yeah, no _bone-_ doggling for me and the human. see you soon bro.”

Sans puts his phone back in his pocket and climbs off the station counter. You’re probably watching his movements a little too closely, but you’re just curious! Honest! You’ve never seen a moving skeleton before, and this was all very exciting and strange.

 

 _Speaking of strange, just like literally everything else, he seems kinda familiar. Maybe that’s why I’m not having a melt-down? Literally,_ all of this _would normally be melt-down worthy._

 

“welp. i’m headed to grillby’s, care to come with? if not, i can drop you off at the inn next door.”

He looks sincere, and with Chara off wailing, you have to make this decision on your own. “Uhm, sure. Why not. So which way to town?”

“ah, don’t worry ‘bout that. i know a shortcut.” Sans’ grin doesn’t change at all - _I am reminded of all those times Mama said not to make a funny face in case it got stuck_ \- but the size of his glowing pupils do. They get bigger. At least he sounds happier.

You have no idea what a shortcut is, and C is _still_ having some sort of fit, so you just nod to Sans to lead the way. He reaches out a boney hand, which you take without a moment’s hesitation, but all you can think of is _bone hand._

And that you have been doing a lot of hand-holding lately.

 

_I wonder if that is a monster thing, or just a Sans/Toriel thing._

 

You get so distracted by your own thoughts that you don’t even notice that you’re in Snowdin till Sans stops walking. He lets go of your hand _(bone hand bone hand bone hand)_ and pushes open the door to a building you didn’t even notice was right in front of you. From inside you can hear a lot of voices talking. And a dog barki - actually make that two (maybe more) dogs barking. Also from inside, you assume at least, the smell of alcohol and woodfire wafts to your nose.

“grillby does his best to be _sternum_ with everybody, but sometimes they can get a little rowdy. figured you could use the warning.”

_Frisky… Just be careful what you say to him, alright? _

_Alright._ You nod. “Alright, thanks.” With that, he enters the establishment, and you follow close behind.

* * *

It’s warm inside, that’s the first thing you notice. The next is how _full_ it is. From the outside, “Grillby’s” looked almost small for a restaurant, but it seems huge on the inside, or maybe that’s just how many monsters are in here. You notice that you were right, there are dogs in there. Several in fact, and most of them are wearing armour. _That's ... concerning_. Sans waves hello to most as he passes, and the other patrons wave back but no one seems to notice you.

 _It’s good if they don’t see you. _ C is still with you, good. At least they’ve stopped their incessant whining about your new companion enough to be helpful.

Sans comes to a hault right in front of the counter and pulls himself onto a stool. You’re almost totally distracted by looking at all the people around you. Specifically, the strange plant thing in one of the bothes. It's a plant. You can't seem to understand why your attention is focused on them.

 

_Seriously, why am I ... ?_

 

Flashbacks from your terrifying, albeit quick battle with Flowey are coming back and suddenly - You can’t move, you can’t breathe, you can’t think.  
 Is this wood under your feet or is it stone? You can’t tell.  
 You can’t tell, you can’t tell, you can’t tell.  
 In your mind’s eye, all you can see is the image of those bullets hitting your soul over and over again.  
 And the pain, oh god the pain of having something pierce the very base of your person.  
 You _can_ feel that - once, twice, a million times and each feels just like the first.  
 Well, each time it _is_ the first time right? All that other stuff, being happy, meeting Toriel, that was all just a figment of your imagination right?  
 Really, you never left that moment when he first got you, and now you’re going to have to fight this flower forever.  
 Stone beneath you, can’t think, must move, white, white, white, and that horrible laughter.

“kid?” You blink, Sans is waving his hand in front of your face - _white like bullets, white like death/bone hand bone hand bone hand_ \- and you notice that his glowy-pupils are almost completely gone.

A shaky hand goes to rub your neck. “Sorry, guess I zoned out for a minute.” A nervous chuckle escapes your lips and from somewhere nearby, that is mirrored by Chara.

“ok kid. sure.” He pats the seat beside him, meaning for you to join him at the counter. “oh, wait hold on.” Sans lifts the cushion of the seat and pulls a whoopie cushion from underneath it. “some loser is always hiding these things here.”

Sans tosses the small time prank material to you as you pull yourself up. “Sorry about that.” your voice is shaky, of course it is. “Sometimes, all this new stuff just gets to me, ya know?”

 

 _Why can I feel like I can trust this bag of bones?  
_ _Wait hold up, that was rude. Don’t be like that, you are supposed to be a good person. Good people don’t say shit like that._

 

You take a quick survey of the restaurant to see who noticed your breakdown, and nobody is watching you at least. That's something. The plant monster that caused it all, has a face of teeth. Like, that's their whole face. You have no fucking clue how you thought it was Flowey, like this person has TEETH for A FACE. If it didn't make you feel so drained, you'd be unbelievably embarrased right now.

“yeah, i get that. care to get something to eat? if i end up doing my job, it might just be the last good food you get for a while.”

_That sounds … ominus_

_He’s part of the royal guard, what do you expect? That this be easy? Space/time isn't that nice, naive little Frisky B. _

“Sure, I suppose. What’s on the menu?” You brush off C’s explanation and do you best to play the part of a happy random stranger.

You get the feeling Sans is doing the same. “burgers or fries. or burgers _and_ fries i guess.”

The bartender down at the other side has totally caught your eye. Why wouldn’t he, the guy is made of fire. _C is he made of fire?_

_Who, Grillby? Yeah. Fire monster. _

_That’s super fucking weird._

You’re _the weird one here. _ Grillby puts down the glass he had been vigorously wiping and slowly makes his way down to where you and Sans are. You can’t help but wonder if he has to worry about accidentally burning the things he is touching. Well actually, you can’t help but wonder a lot of things about how a fire monster works, but Sans is still waiting for a response beside you, so you ignore those stray thoughts for now.

“Fries, I guess?”

Sans nods at you before waving down Grillby. “two orders of fries, please grilb. and uh, put ‘em on my tab, will ya?” He was apparently going to pay for your meal, how nice!

“ _Fry_ thank you.” You both have a good laugh and Grillby heads to the kitchen to prepare your order.

“something wrong, kiddo?” Sans asks after you’ve both calmed down, “you’re beginning to look a little lost again.”

“No, no. I just feel like I’ve used that one before, but I can’t remember when.” It must have been with Jay, you rationalize. “Ah well, it’s still good, so it doesn’t really matter where I used it. Honestly, thank you for this. Uhm, though, if you don’t mind me asking, who was it you were talking to on the phone earlier?”

Grillby comes back with two plates of fries and sets one in front of you before leaning down under the counter and grabbing two glass bottles of ketchup and putting them both between you and Sans. With a polite nod _(at least, i think that’s what he was doing)_ , Grillby leaves you and Sans to your business and returns to his at the other end of the bar. You grab one of the bottles and gently pour some out for your fries. Sans grabs the other bottle and pops off the lid. Just as you are about to thank him again for the food, Sans brings the ketchup bottle to his face and starts drinking it.

 

_What the fuck._

 

“What the fuck.”

“can’t a guy drink in peace?”

Your jaw has to be on the floor by now “Uh, no! You’re drinking _ketchup_!”

He points to the ketchup on your fries with his other hand. “you’re _eating_ it.”

_He’s got you there. _

_Fuck you too, C! I don’t need this weird shit in my life._ You sigh, resigned “Got me there, I guess.”

You go back to your food and stop harassing Sans. It isn’t until you’re most of the way through the meal when you realize he never answered your question. You aren’t sure if you should ask him again, or just let it drop, but each time you look at him, Sans is back to drinking condiments and you can’t focus on anything other than _ew_. But you still want to ask, you overheard him say something a human (you) and you wanted to know what would be going on.

“oh, to repay me, how about you hang out with my brother and i for the day? it’ll be nothing much, just some puzzles out in the snow, but he’s never seen a human before. it would mean a lot to him.” You can hear the hidden words, doing this would mean a lot to Sans too. Plus, it would make things a lot easier for you in the long run, it would make it that much easier to make friends with the skeleton brothers.

“Sure Sans, why not. I’d feel bad about not paying you back anyways.”

 _Remember when I said he was part of the royal guard? One of their jobs is capturing humans. I know you need to do this, for whatever stupid reason, but be careful, alright? Sans…_  
_He’s a lot stronger than he looks. Him and his brother, both._

_Mhm._ Sure, Chara was usually right but they couldn’t be all the time, could they? And it was just going to be some puzzles, right? You’ll be fine.

That’s what you’re telling yourself at least.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully the few parrallels to early chapters are noticable enough to add to the story, but not so much as to overtake it. 
> 
> anyways.
> 
> seeya next time, space cowboy.


	16. Puzzle Mania

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lets see if I can earn that maturity rating then, yeah?
> 
> A bunch of things happen. You can probably guess what they are.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there are a few jumpcuts in here, mostly bc i was trying to not let this become absurdly long! It still is though. woops.

Everything else goes smoothly, or as smoothly as it can when you are still recovering from a panic attack and Sans is obviously watching you to make sure your evil human hands don’t fuck anything up. It’s the weirdest meal you’ve ever had, to say the least. Right as things are wrapping up, the last of your food has been devoured, Sans’ phone starts ringing. He turns away from the counter as he answers it and the person on the other side starts talking loudly enough you can almost make out their words almost immediately. “oh are you back already? yeah, we’re still in town, just _chilling_ … want to walk there with us? … what? already there? yeah, ok bro. see ya in a few.”

You watch him while he’s on the phone (you don’t feel comfortable looking anywhere else), but wait until he has put his phone away to say anything. At some point, you had removed your backpack to set it beside you, but now you pick it back up. “Are we heading out?”

“yeah. fair warning, my bro can be very … enthusiastic, but he wouldn’t hurt a fly to save the world.” _Wait… hadn’t C said that_ exact _same thing?_ “some of his puzzles, however, well let’s just say i’ll be keeping an _eye_ out for you, kid - even if i don’t have any.” He slips down from the stool and stands in front of you.

He’s at about shoulder height there, which means he’s probably just barely shorter than you in a normal environment. That’s interesting, you suppose. There is plenty of interesting things going on right now. You take one last look around the cozy restaurant and it’s inhabitants before sliding out of your seat and following Sans out.

The cold outside hits you like a brick wall, and in the chill, you realize that Grillby’s smelled like cinnamon and the outside like mint. It feels like a dream, honestly. You didn’t notice before you entered, but what you can see of Snowdin from here looks really picturesque, like a snowy resort in the night. The Underground’s light source is still pretty puzzling, but at least the town has lamps that don’t leave you questioning _everything_.

“hey, would you mind closing your eyes for a second?” You’ve been looking upwards, but still watching Sans lead the way out of the corner of your eyes. As he talks, Sans holds a hand out to you.

_It’s a shortcut. This’ll go faster if you just do as he says._ You hum an affirmation, hesitantly take his hand, and close your eyes. You can still feel the snow crunch beneath your feet as you keep walking, but for a moment, the wind feels different. Stagnant, but only for a moment, and then it’s back to flowing like normal. You have no idea what to make of that.

Sans lets go of your hand, and you stop walking. “k, you’re good to open them again.” You do. “ _eye'_ ll see you up ahead.”

Sans had gotten you back to the old patrol station where you first met. Was Snowdin really that close by? The stick you had dropped the first time was still lying there in the snow. You walk over and pick it up, the weight familiar and comforting in your hands. When you turn around again, Sans is gone.

“Does he do that often?” You’ve already inspected everything here, it is time to move on.

Chara comes back into existence to walk beside you. The sweater they are wearing seems much too thin to withstand this cold, but then again, you have no idea if they can actually feel the cold without a soul. They aren’t shivering at least. “More often than not. That asshole is too lazy to walk anywhere if he doesn't have too.”

“Wow, C, you must _really_ not like the guy.” A small chuckle escapes your lips. Seeing Chara get all worked up can get pretty amusing if you’re honest.

They spin around and from what you can see of their face, they look gleeful. “You betcha, Frisky B! That smiley trashbag is the bane of my existence.”

“Ah, well.” Their better mood is a little infectious, even if you don’t know what caused it. Or why their words of apparent hate seem so happy. “If you can’t say anything nice … “

“Don’t say anything at all. blah blah, whatever, whatever, who cares. It’s not like I would ever want to say anything to him _anyways_.” They stick their tongue out at you, beneath their golden flower garland.

 

 _I’ve got to admit, even if it’s is just to myself, C feels like a weird sibling. A weird, mean, kinda violent sibling, but… it’s nice, to have them here.  
_ _Wait … they’re just a little kid, right? Would that make me the older? But, if they were born first, the fact that they died young wouldn’t matter right?_

 

“C, do you remember what year you were born in?”

“What, why? C’mon, B. Didn’t your Mama teach you not to be nosey? It’s rude.” They blow another raspberry at you, _who's the rude one now you Lil’ shit._

“I was just curious C, _you_ don’t be rude.” If they hadn’t felt like a sibling before, they sure did now.

“Fine!”

“So are you going to tell me or not?”

Chara sighs before giving in. “Uh, not the exact year, but I’m pretty sure it was a few decades ago at least.”

“Huh, so you would be the older one. Okay.” They give you a strange look _(stranger than normal, at least)_ and then pointedly ignore you in favour of travelling further down the path. You follow suit and both of you move forward in relative silence. As you progress, the trees go from overgrown and slightly terrifying to pretty normal. Most are now a much more appropriate height, five or six meters at most instead of before when you had assumed that they were several times that. As you are trying to puzzle that out, it strikes that how did these trees even grow down here? There is no sunlight, as far as you now, the ceiling of the massive cavern is solid and there is no way that any of these plants should even be growing. The only ones that followed proper logic to some degree were the flowers you had landed on when you first feel.

Now that you think about plants in the Ruins, where had all those leaves come from? There were literally leaves everywhere, adding to the feel of autumn, but where on earth did they come from? The single tree you had seen was in front of Toriel’s home, and it was much too small to have caused all that - and too far away in plenty of cases.

 

_Perhaps they grow like fungi? Those only need a steady flow of oxygen right?_

 

You get so caught up in more of the workings of the Underground and what little you can remember from environmental biology that you don’t even notice the small box in front of you until you have tripped over it.

Your stick did nothing to help support you. _Useless._

“Have a nice _trip_ there Frisky B?” Face down in the snow, you don’t need to see them to imagine the smug look on their face.

“No, you ass.” Name-calling may have been uncalled for, but that didn’t make it any less fun.

 

_Ahh, the sign of true sibling bond._

 

You stick your stick into the ground and push yourself back up. C only takes one look at you before nearly falling to the ground laughing. “Don’t move! The snow looks like a hat on your head! Oh, B, if only you could see this!”

That sounds vaguely interesting. “M’phone is in the side pocket of my bag.” You whisper while trying to stay as still as possible.

They gather themself up but when they move to grab your phone to take a picture your stick slips a little in the snow and you move enough that your “hat” ends up breaking. Too bad, you had kind of wanted to see it. Chara is pouting, they obviously wanted a memento as well.

“There’s always next time.” You do you best to sound nonchalant, despite being a little disappointed.

Without any more distractions, you turn your attention to the obstacle that started it all - the small red box sitting in the snow. You lean down a little to look at it.

“This is a **box**.” Chara bends down beside you, also looking at it. “You can put an item **inside** it or take them **out**. The same **box** will appear later, so don’t worry about coming back. Sincerely, a box lover.”

“Mm, oka - wait, a box lover? C, I hadn’t taken you for a lover of _anything,_ other than being annoying of course.” And being right, but you didn’t share that little tidbit.

They flash solid enough to push you over, the little brat, before responding. “I was reading the sign, you nitwit.” C pulls a flower from their garland and uses it to point at a small sign just behind the box.

You go to push them back, but they quickly fade enough for you to just pass right through them, although you catch yourself before hitting the ground again. C gives you a huge, shit eating, and slightly creepy grin before raising themself enough that you can’t even reach them when standing. _That’s cheating!_

You blow a raspberry at them before opening the box. Inside, there is a pair of gloves that look to be about your size. Just before you can pick them up, a translucent yellow flower drops onto your hand, obviously C trying to get your attention.

“Those are the tough gloves - made of worn pink leather, for five-fingered people. They’ll boost your **Weapon AT** to **5**.”

You don’t want to attack anyone, so you decide to just leave them in there. When you look up at Chara, they are nodding. You don’t have anything to put in the box and there isn’t anything else in there, so you just close the lid and take a look in the nearby area.

To the north, there is the bank of a river. You can vaguely remember it on the map, but not where it begins or ends. But, then again, can a river under a mountain really have a start or an end? Whatever the case, there is still more for you to see. Propped up in the snow beside the river, there is a fishing rod. When you reel it in, all you find on the end is the torn edge of some paper.

Too bad, you were wondering what it was doing out here. Well, that seems to be all of any interest here so you decide to move on. You pass the small box again and continue down the path towards Snowdin.

 

_Hey wait, is the town called Snowdin and the forest here have some other name? Or is the forest Snowdin and the town like Snowdin Village or something? Mmm, The map just labeled this whole area as Snowdin. What are its boundaries? What about the rest of the Underground? Is each area really named like that? I can only wonder why…_

 

You don’t get much further than that, however because a flash of movement darts in front of you and suddenly the air is heavy enough to make you feel like you are swimming. Your eyes snap in front of you and, _are you kidding me,_ your soul is out. Apparently, it’s time for another battle. _Jeez…_

Chara has faded away again, but just like each time before, you can feel their firm grip in your own hand. You can’t say for certain if this is for your own comfort, or theirs.

**Ice Cap struts into view.** _Your options are_ **Check, Ignore, Compliment** **_,_ ** _or_ **Steal.** _What do you want to do?_

**Compliment** _, I think._ You point at their hat and then make a double thumbs up. It really is a great hat, pointed and shiny.

You Inform Ice Cap that they have a great hat!  _Also, look out okay? This guy actually fights back._

_I’m not_ fighting _in the first place!_ Anything else that you had to say gets cut off by the sudden sound of something whizzing past you.

Solid white icicles come flying at you, not so fast that you can’t avoid them but fast enough to freak you the fuck out. _Shit, Shit shit shitshitshit!_ You roll out of the way of one set, only to get grazed by another. It stings, but you block that out and focus more intently on what’s going on. With all the danger around you, though, you almost don’t catch what Ice Cap is saying.

“DUH! Who DOESN’T know?”

There is about ten seconds of you dodging side to side before Ice Cap stops attacking. _My turn?_

_Yeah. What are you going to do? Oh and, your_ **HP** _is down to_ **17** _._

**Ignore** _. I’m not in the mood for someone who takes a compliment so rudely._ You manage to tear your eyes away from Ice Cap’s hat.

_Good choice but …_ They look annoyed. 

“HELLO???” Ice Cap calls out as they begin their attack. “My hat’s up here.”

This time, they send walls of … something at you, in a wave pattern. You do your best to stay in between them and manage to make it through their turn without any damage. Where the icicle got your cheek in their first attack, you can feel a bit of blood dripping down. _Sticky… Gross._ At least it didn’t hurt any more than a stubbed toe. You could deal with that pain easily.

_What next? Also,_ Chara snickers for a moment while Ice Cap waits patiently for you to end your turn.  They’re secretly checking to see if you are looking at their hat _._

They are. You watch Ice Cap out of the corner of your eye, and they keep flicking back to look at you, before feigning nonchalance.

 _Hilarious._ You continue not looking at Ice Cap’s hat.

It seems defeated… 

“Better a HATTER than a HATER!” Although not defeated enough to leave you alone, apparently. You can only hope that on your next turn, Ice Cap will accept your mercy. You’ve had enough of dodging in the snow, you just want to get to Snowdin and take a nap.

Another few seconds of pure evasion before they give it up. When you look at them, you can easily tell that Ice Cap is desperate for attention. You spare them easily.

As your soul returns to its rightful place in your chest, the air gets a little lighter and the area around you looks a little less blurry. Everything is back to normal, the offending monster is nowhere in sight, good. You take a deep breath of the wintry air and let your heart (or is it soul in this case?) calm down enough to keep walking. Although this wasn’t your first encounter, you still hadn’t been through very many and a small part of you feared that the next would be just like the first and cause a panic attack.

“Aren’t you going to pick up the gold they left you?”

“What?” You didn’t know anything about gold being left for you, but sure enough, there is a small stack of golden coins at your feet. “I didn’t realize that they had left anything for me.”

“Obviously. The loser in a battle will almost always leave you some gold, as an appeasement to you and your strength.” You can’t help but notice how much they are enjoying explaining this to you, which means they are probably trying to lead you astray. The importance they place on being the strongest doesn't escape you either.

“Wouldn’t it make more sense for it to be an apology?” All the monsters you had come across in the Ruins had seemed apologetic for fighting you, although that may have been more of Toriel’s influence than anything else. They had all seemed to be pretty fearful of her. “I mean, all the monsters in Ruins looked more apologetic about fighting than being scared. ”

Chara doesn’t say anything. You can tell by the way that their face is scrunching up that they are scowling, and their flowers grow more and more red as you watch them. There is silence while you both watch each other until they break it by flipping you the bird.

While you pick up the tiny shining pile, you let out a quiet laugh at Chara’s antics. Once that is done with you must return to the matters at hand: Sans and his brother are still waiting for you, somewhere up ahead, and as much as you would love to stay here annoying C, you have an obligation to them.

* * *

As you round a corner in the path, passing a small stone boulder that only catches your attention in passing, you can see Sans talking with … someone.

And by someone, you mean a very tall skeleton. This is obviously his brother, what was his name again? Eh, you get the feeling that you’ll find out soon enough.

 

“-SO, AS I WAS SAYING ABOUT UNDYNE, SHE AND ALPHYS HAVE INVITED ME, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, TO J - OH, SANS, BROTHER …” The Great Papyrus, as he called himself, trails off when you accidentally slip and land in the snow with a loud “Oof”. By the time you’ve pulled yourself up, he has already noticed you completely. _No hiding now_.

The Great Papyrus turns from Sans to you, and then back to Sans. Then back to you, back to Sans, back and forth enough that you are getting a little dizzy. Sans meanwhile, just angles himself enough to see both of you.

You can respect that laziness.

Papyrus keeps going like this until he’s just a blur to your weak human eyes. He then immediately leans down to Sans and, in what you think is a whisper (read as: normal speaking volume), says “Sans, is that the human?”

“yeah, bro. pretty cool right?”

“Hm, yes brother. But, is it just me, or do they look cold?” How sweet! The tall skeleton had already picked out that you are a shivering, freezing mess.

" _ice cold_ , i’m sure.”

Papyrus looked concerned (it was much easier to pick out emotions from his very expressive face), but then paused and stared at his brother. As you watch, it looks almost like Papyrus’ eyes pop out of his head, “THAT WAS UNCALLED FOR, SANS. I DO NOT NEED YOU SCARING AWAY THE HUMAN WITH SUCH TERRIBLE JOKES.”

“eh, they seem to be _warming up_ to it.” You can’t help the chuckle that pulls itself from your mouth, even if it further riles up the taller brother. Papyrus gasps when he hears your laughter, it’s so grief-filled that it would be absolutely heartbreaking if it wasn’t so funny.

The aforementioned skeleton then just stomps his foot, tells you that he’ll meet you both at the first puzzle, once you’ve learned to be good people with a proper sense of humor, and runs quickly down the road and out of sight. You calm yourself down and turn to face the other brother.

“Uhm. He’s very, mmh, energetic, isn’t he? That’s pretty cool.” You can tell that Sans holds his brother in high esteem, and to gain his approval, you try to appeal to that. It makes you a little sick to think that you may be only pandering to his likes for your own purposes, but Papyrus really does seem like a good guy. Knowing that Sans would approve of your approval doesn’t change anything about how nice they both are.

“yeah.” Sans flashes you a grin. Not that he isn’t always grinning, but this one seems different. Happier, maybe. Approving, more likely. “welp. _icy_ you at the first puzzle, i guess.” Sans gives you a little wave and then walks off, in the totally opposite direction. Hadn’t he already said that he would meet you there when he dropped you off at his wooden stall? Redundant.

Chara whispers something about just wanting to get another joke in, and that makes sense based on what you know of him.

 _So,_ if they are whispering you might as well as well, _you seem to know him pretty well, right?_

_We’ve danced that dance before._  That sounds … ominous - and vaguely sexual. You quickly remember that Chara is a tiny child so you are going to pretend you never heard that. At all. Ever.

_Yeah… Okay, anyways. Do you think he would rather give up jokes, or being lazy?_

They don’t miss a beat.  _Being lazy. Sans would tell a joke with his dying breath if he could._

Alright. That answers that, you suppose.

* * *

You and Chara got sidetracked a few more times, but eventually managed to catch up to the skeletons. The things in Snowdin ( _I never asked if the forest had a specific name! Shit!_ ) are just so captivating! Another thing that catches your interest is how familiar it all seems. Hell, you aren’t even as surprised as you should be about the talking snowman you ran into, purely because he felt like an old friend, one that you had gone on a great journey with. Same with the dog with the extendo-neck. You had such a good time petting him (Chara did too, but they’d never admit it) that you don’t mind the damage you took. It was worth it to see just how far its head would go. It went pretty far.

For probably the first time in your entire life, you had cursed the English language’s lack of a word for “An old friend you hadn’t met yet” because that would have perfectly described all of this.

Speaking of friends, though, you force your attention back on the skeleton brothers. Neither would really count as a friend, _yet_ , but you’ll all get there eventually. You’d have to, apparently, in order to make it out of the Underground. Score one, the power of friendship. Or would it be the magic of friendship, because this whole place is magical? Who knows, honestly. Magic, though, that reminds you of the weird dog, the one with the twin blades that could only see you if you if you were moving. Hadn’t it said its name was something weird, oh what was it?

 

_Faulty memory, my true nemesis._

 

_Are you trying to remember something?_ C cuts through your tangled thoughts.

_… maybe._

_Don’t lie to me, Frisky B._ What had it’s name been! It was smoking dog treats, of course,you remember something weird like that, but not the name!  _Seriously, stop. I can almost see the steam coming out of your ears._

You give in, maybe they’d remember. _Tryna remember the name of that one dog. The one that couldn’t see us if we were standing still._

_It was still only_ you _Frisky, I don’t know why you keep saying_ we _. It’s weird. Anyways, his name is Doggo._ Ha! You were right, it was a strange name! This time, you make sure to commit it to memory. Strange names, though, that reminds you…

The skeletons! Jeez, twice now! You tune back into the real world just in time to see Papyrus and Sans both turn to you and then look at the ground in between you. _Hmm, wonder why?_

“BEHOLD, THE GREAT ELECTRICAL MAZE!” Papyrus grandly motions to the space in front of you with a glass ball thingy, while Sans looks on, amused.

 

_There’s nothing there. It’s just snow._

 

“Uh, Papyrus? There isn’t anything there, it’s all just snow.”

He strikes a grand pose, holding the orb thing high, “OF COURSE THERE IS, HUMAN! IT IS _COVERED_ BY THE SNOW.”

“Oh.” Now that you are looking, you can almost pick out the edges of some sort of raised platform. It’s hard to tell, though, so you don’t berate yourself for not noticing the first time.

“YES, NOW THAT YOU ARE READY, WE CAN PROCEED WITH THE PUZZLE.” Papyrus takes a step forward, probably to make another big, sweeping gesture, but is cut off by a sharp electric shock. For a moment, you can’t help but think that it’s a little funny - the face he makes reminds you of those old cartoons where a person is electrocuted and all you can see is their bones flashing. But then you remember that electrocution can kill humans and it is no longer funny at all.

“uh, bro. i’m pretty sure the human has to be holding the orb.” Sans slowly points to the orb in Papyrus’ hands. “i don’t think the effect will be quite as _shocking_ otherwise.”

_BOOOOOOOO._

_I have to agree, that was bad._

“SANS! THANK YOU FOR REMINDING ME. THAT WAS VERY HELPFUL OF YOU.” At least being flash cooked did nothing to temper his enthusiasm. Papyrus takes a full step back (With his long legs, this is no short amount of space) and then walks around the puzzle. If the situation wasn’t rapidly becoming more dangerous for you, you might have laughed at how cautious he was being compared to a moment ago.

_Don’t worry, I have this memorized. You’ll be fine._

That is reassuring. Doesn’t matter _how_ they have it memorized, just that they do. You’ll be fine, they said so.

Papyrus, now standing right in front of you, drops the orb into your hands. He seems so much taller now that he is close, he must be at least a half foot taller than you. When he’s looking down at you, you don’t feel like he’s looking down _on_ you, which is really nice. Actually, everything about Papyrus is nice.

What a nice guy!

Sans is still watching lazily to the side, but he seems a little more interested in what is going on. You can’t help the feeling that everything hinges on this.

 

 _Which is totally dumb, why on earth would something as small as this matter so much. Unless it kills me of course, but then again, it’s not like that would change much right? I wonder what would happen to my soul. The notebook - man I really need to sit down and read it now that I might understand it a bit more - had said something about human souls persisting, even after death - beyond the “_ **Saves** _” and “_ **Loads** _”, whatever those are._

_And that makes sense! Chara is dead, but their soul is still around … I wonder what else a soul would do. Like, fade away? Shatter into small enough pieces that you can’t put it back together?_

_What does it feel like, to shatter?_

 

You don’t want to think about that, it’s getting a bit too morbid. Trying to get back into the moment, you try to retake stock of your surroundings. Sans is still watching you, his eye sockets look a little less round, like he’s squinting at you. People usually squint when they are trying to figure something out, perhaps that was what he was doing. Whatever, it doesn’t matter much, it’s not like you can read his mind. Papyrus, on the other hand, is no longer near you and has instead rejoined Sans on the other side of this maze. He looks much more excited about you being here.

_Welp, it’s time to get moving, yeah? I’d hate to disappoint._

_FINALLY. I was beginning to think you died standing up._

_C, that’d be super gross. Like SUPER gross. Although, if a person managed to stay standing, that’d be kinda cool, I guess._

_I know, right? Like sleeping with your eyes open. Amazing._ Creepy, more like, but you don’t tell them that.

You still haven’t started the puzzle, something you really should be doing. You take a cautious step forward but almost pull back when you can begin to _hear_ Papyrus vibrate with excitement. Puzzles are obviously very important to him.One more step forward and you are at the edge of the maze. The opaque glass orb in your hands begins to heat up a little, indicating an electric wall nearby. By nearby, you mean right in front of you. Literally close enough that if you leant forward only a smidge, you could probably touch your nose to it. But that would be painful so you don’t do that.

_Take a step to your right._ You do.  _Okay, now two forward._

Papyrus is watching you move slowly with baited breath. Sans looks both relaxed and tense (it must be that stupid grin that hasn’t changed once this whole time), oh the duality of man. Monster. Whatever. The ground underneath you is mostly stable, but with all the excitement of the day, you are a little unsteady on your feet. There are quite a few times that while following C’s instructions, you wobble and nearly touch the edges. In reality, it’s hard to tell where these edges are other than the orb in your hands getting hotter and hotter.

_I thought it was supposed to electrify me, not cook me._

_Isn’t electricity a quick burst of intense heat or some shit._

_Dude, maybe. I’m an art student, not someone who needs science trivia._

_Who cares. Uhm, oh, turn to your left and take two steps._ You do that easy, but your mind is now stuck on “What makes up electricity” and in the lack of focus, you nearly take a third step.

The little soul shards in your pocket start pulsing. It doesn’t feel physical, though, instead more like it’s pulsing in your head, like a headache. You decide that it must be soul magic. Or proximity. Or something, this is all pretty confusing.  _Jesus, Stop Frisk! Pull that foot back in! You’re on the right track to finding out what it’s made of first-fucking-hand if that’s what you’re going for, you idiot!_

You pull your foot back. C’s soul stops doing the weird magic-y shit. _Good. Now turn to the right and just walk till your out. It’s impossible to fuck this up. _ It _is_ impossible to fuck it up. You exit the maze with expert skill. So skilled in fact, that Papyrus applauds and crows about how “YOU ARE NEARLY AS GREAT AS ME!”. You can feel yourself blush with pride.

“INCREDIBLE! YOU SLIPPERY SNAIL, YOU SOLVED IT SO EASILY… TOO EASILY! HOWEVER!! THE NEXT PUZZLE WILL NOT BE EASY! IT IS DESIGNED BY MY BROTHER, SANS!” Sans gives you a lazy wave. You wave back. “YOU WILL SURELY BE CONFOUNDED! I KNOW I AM! NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!!”

While you are trying to understand why his laugh reminds you of Skeletor, Papyrus runs backwards until he is out of sight. Although, at that speed, it was more like sprinting. While backwards. You don’t understand.

“hey, thanks … my brother seems like he’s having fun. by the way, did you see that weird outfit he’s wearing?”

You were purposefully ignoring the weird outfit he was wearing.

“we made the first version of it a few years back, for a costume party. ever since then, he’s been wearing until it falls apart and then remaking it. other than the days where it’s in the wash, he hasn’t worn anything else since.”

_Why is he telling us this? It’s useless._

_HA! You said_ WE _! Score one, Frisky B.! You’ve finally accepted that this is a journey for you too!_

“keeps calling it his “battle body.” … man, isn’t my brother cool?”

You nod vigorously, although some of the good mood right now might be the cause of a different undead companion than the one Sans is talking about. At least, you assume the Skeleton Brothers count as undead, they are skeletons. Before you can say anything else, though, Sans suggests you get a move on (read as: forced you with that creepy soul piercing stare).

Eh, you figure that there is no point in arguing, so you leave Sans behind and continue down the path.

* * *

After a few minutes, you come to a break in the forest. The road to Snowdin is now on some sort of raised outcropping, and when you peek over the edge (carefully, the scare from earlier is still playing back in your mind) you can see the trees keep going for what looks like miles. As much as you would love to stop there and consider the logistics of a multi-mile complex underneath a mountain (why are you so sure you’re under a mountain all of a sudden?), it’s still pretty cold out and you’ve still got a fair way to go before you’ll be back in Snowdin. Although, this doesn’t really seem to be what you signed up for, is it.

You had been told “a few quick puzzles” and then you’ll be back in the warm, pretty town. How long had you been wandering around? At least a half-hour, and that was being generous. It honestly felt more like a full hour. At least it wasn’t so cold as to make you uncomfortable. The snow was pretty and your thick jacket kept out the wind. It was something.

But, this was not just “A few quick puzzles”.

* * *

“Hey, C? what do you think? Is that glitter on the spaghetti, or is it just a trick of the light?” What a strange looking plate of spaghetti. It looks like it’s been here for years, but that could just be a trick of the light, right? It’s not like someone would leave a plate of spaghetti out here long enough to freeze rock hard like this. Right?

You poke the spaghetti-cicle. It’s completely solid. _Why is completely solid??_

“C’mon B., do you really want to know?” They had floated around to the other side of the table and are also staring intently at the frozen food.

In all honesty, the only part of the note (also frozen to the table) that you could make out was _“THE GREAT PAPYRUS”_ in a scratchy text, and as much as he seemed like a pretty cool dude, you weren’t sure that you wanted to know the real reason for the spaghetti. Or any reason, at all. “Not really.”

After the previous incident (you accidentally said that you thought junior jumble was _easy_ , like, how dare you), you’ve decided that Papyrus is over-the-top and while amazing, can easily become too much for you to handle. Loud noises are nice, but mostly only when you are expecting them. Papyrus is not expected.

“Well, as much as I would _love_ to stay here and watch you try to eat that, I’m getting bored of snow and puzzles. Let’s get moving.” Chara returns to their usual progress position - sprawled out on open air, pulling never-ending petals off one of their weird flowers. You’ve lost track of how many times you’ve wondered if _you_ could do the weird flower thing.

“Sure, let’s go.” You lead the way down the path to Snowdin, letting your eyes drift over the now familiar surroundings. Once you’ve seen a part of it, you’ve seen pretty much all of it. Snow forests do not have a lot of variation.

“Hey.” You keep walking, completely tuned out to your surroundings. “Hey!” To be honest, Chara sounds more like a buzzing insect than a person talking. “Oh, my GOD. Frisk stop walking!”

“Mmm, what?” You trip over a small sign and land face first in the snow.

 

_Amazing. This is what I get for being distracted._

 

Chara sighs before grabbing your arm and pulling you back up. “You earned that for ignoring me.”

“UGH.” You swat at them once you are back on your own two feet. At least you manage to land a light retaliation hit before they move out of reach. “So what did you want to tell me, C?”

“To read the sign, not step on it, idiot.” They stick their tongue out at you. How childish.

 

 _Read it huh? Well, I_ suppose _since that’s what signs are for._

 

You carefully bend down to look at it. “Beware of Dog Marriage” it reads.

“Uhm…” You point at it and turn upwards to Chara, the question written on your face.

They shrug back, sending a few loose petals down your way. “Honestly Frisky, I have no more of an idea than you do.”

“Well,” you shake your head at the sign’s apparent nonsense. “I suppose we will know when we see it”

* * *

There were a lot of dogs. Like _a lot_ of dogs. Each of them was honestly very nice once they decided that you were not a threat - even the married ones - but there were a lot of dogs. Right after meeting Greater Dog (What made him _greater_ you’d never know), Chara said that you had missed one. Well now, that just wouldn’t do. All dogs deserve to be pet, at least once by you.

“Where are we going again?” You pass the last of the snow poffs and face further down the path. “How far back are we going anyways?”

“Not far.” They drop a flower on your head. You think that it might be a sign of affection, maybe. “Turn down this side path.”

You hadn’t gone this way before, Both you and Chara had been too focused on the main path in front of you. This path goes down, the slight decline makes you a little more unsteady and your stick gets the grand opportunity to support even more of your weight. What a lucky stick.

“So, C, explain to me why we didn’t just come down here the first time? Now we have to do all this backtracking.”

They drop another flower on you. “Not _we_ Frisky. It’s just you.”

“You’re here too. That should count for something.” You round the corner and walk beside a rock wall. A ways up you can see a cliff edge, but it’s much too high to climb up to - looks like you’ll have to just wonder about what might be up there.

Chara takes the lead instead of fighting back and you take it as a small victory. Anything you can get, you’ll take. They seem lonely like you used to be a long time ago. You wanted to change that.

As you both progress, Chara bobs slightly in the air. It reminds you of a bird flying - if a bird was an angsty 15-year-old with a bright green and yellow sweater and huge flowers covering half their face. You have to admit that you are slightly impressed that their flower’s “normal state” is the same colour as the yellow on their sweater. They begin to float lower and lower until they are almost right on top of you. It takes them getting dangerously close to your head before you realize why - there is a doorway here that they are too high to make it through.

“There’s a dog … in there? Why is there a dog in a cave C.” You take a step back so they can drop to the ground in peace.

Chara does just that before turning to flash you that big, creepy smile. “Technically, B., we’re all in a cave right now.” The smile drops just as quickly and they point inwards. You follow their directions obediently.

There is a door. It doesn’t have a handle, but you can tell that it is meant to open because there seems to be a room on the other side. The wood smells wet and painted on it looks to be the same symbol you saw Toriel wearing. You have no idea what it means, both in general and painted on the door.

You take a step forward before looking to C for confirmation, permission to look through the cracks around it. They nod and you stick your head right up against the wood. Absently, you notice that the wood looks sorta blue in the almost darkness. Inside, however, there is, in fact, another dog.

It’s white, small, and wrapped up in a blanket.

 

_Looks kinda like a shitzu. Those are really annoying dogs. Maybe this one would also be annoying. I can practically feel the shit it would get itself into._

 

You can see it moving slowly. It … The dog is sewing? You watch it for a moment before deciding that, yes, it _is_ sewing a patch on the blanket it’s wrapped in. How it’s actually managing to do that is beyond you, the lack of opposable thumbs and all, but that doesn’t make the dog any less impressive. It seems to be nodding its head in time with a quirky little tune you can barely hear.

 

The sight of the dog fills you with the determination to finish your own journey.

 

“Your progress has been **Saved**.”

Your eyebrow quirks at the strange comment and you remember how Chara had said that exact same thing earlier today. You still have no idea what it means. “Are we done here? Papyrus said there was only one puzzle left and I can practically hear the Inn calling my name.”

“Yeah, sure, whatever. You can get there on your own. I’m taking a nap.”

“You can nap?” You stare at them, incredulous.

They, well they can’t actually stare, but you really feel like they are staring back, challenging you. “Uh, duh. Why _wouldn’t_ I be able to Frisky?”

“I don’t know!” You turn and begin to stalk out of the cave. “I have no idea, soul shit is weird, C. Don’t ask me.”

Their laugh fades away as you trudge back through the cold.

* * *

It doesn’t take long for you to get back to where you were when Chara had requested you go back. The Underground may be big, but it isn’t so large that all your important destinations take more than maybe five minutes to walk to. Besides, the strange little tune you keep replaying in your head fills the dead air and time seems to pass faster. You can see a bridge coming up ahead. _Fucking nasty, I hope I never see a bridge again._

It’s only been a few minutes, and if Chara could actually sleep in their weird soul-only state, then it would be rude to wake them so early right?  This would barely count as a cat-nap. You decide to let them sleep, this is just a little bridge, right? You can handle it on your own.

Although it seems stable, you cling to the ropes that have been attached on the side. A little stability never hurt anyone. You take the first few steps easily. It doesn’t shake much, to your great relief. In fact, this is so much easier than the other bridge, you’re glad you let Chara sleep. They didn’t need to be awake for this, you were doing fine!

“HUMAN! THIS IS YOUR FINAL AND MOST DANGEROUS CHALLENGE! BEHOLD! THE GAUNTLET OF DEADLY TERROR!” Papyrus swings his arms wildly and a slew of things pop up from random places. True to his word, each item looks unbelievably deadly. You grip the rope a little tighter.

Perhaps now would be a good time to wake Chara.

Papyrus gazes fondly at his deadly display - a hanging spiked ball, a huge flame, a cannon, a set of twin spears (one above, one below) and a dog (which might very well be the dog from the cave earlier) - before continuing. “WHEN I SAY THE WORD, IT WILL FULLY ACTIVATE!!! CANNONS WILL FIRE! SPIKES WILL SWING! BLADES WILL SLICE! EACH PART WILL SWING VIOLENTLY UP AND DOWN! ONLY THE TINIEST CHANCE OF VICTORY WILL REMAIN!!!”

You can physically feel all the blood drain from your face. Sans had said that although things may get a little worrisome, nothing bad would actually happen to you. This … this sounded a lot like something bad happening to you. Your eyes flick to Sans but he still looks completely at ease. Like this is normal. Not dangerous.

You want to scream a little. Maybe in fear, maybe in frustration, but just scream. Unfortunately, that’s out of the question. Instead, you gently poke your pocket, hoping that it would be enough to rouse the soul within it. _C? We got a problem._ _This is 300% not safe what do I do?_

There is no response.

“ARE YOU READY?”

No, no you’re not. Not even a little. Even though it is a bad idea, you peek over the edge and see just how far of a drop it is.

“BECAUSE! I! AM!”

You grab the rope on the other side, as if holding two instead of one could save you.

“ABOUT! TO DO IT!”

You’re now gripping unbelievably tightly to the rope on the sides. The scare from earlier is replaying in your mind over and over, this time with more blades and fire. You take one more quick step back when the sudden barking of a dog startles you.

Right.  
Over.  
The.  
Edge.

It’s kind of cliche, you think, that the last thing you saw before you fell was the horrified expressions on the skeleton brothers. You can feel the wind rushing past you and it sinks in, you are _falling_ \- you are going to _die_. Huh. Never figured it would be like this.

Man, this fall seems a lot longer than it should be, maybe it’s just the adrenaline speeding your thoughts. But, who knows, you certainly don’t.

A hand slides into yours and grips yours tight. Chara whispers into your ears, they are _really_ freaking out about this. You should be too, right? Why aren’t you? They say your name, not a hand-me-down nickname, but your real name, They say your name, they say that it’ll all be okay, I promise, just stay determined, load back and I’ll make sure it doesn’t happen next time, stay determined, I **refuse** to let it happen again.

Something slams into your side and you cry out. Was it a scream or a grunt? Was it really you that did it? It happens again and this time, you know for sure, it was you. Your arm feels like it’s being torn off, red hot and sticky.

The ground rushes up to meet you, and upon impact your lungs empty. Painfully. Everything is painful, but it doesn’t feel like it’s actually happening to you. This disconnect is confusing your adrenaline filled head. Each breath feels like something is stabbing you, but that couldn’t be, right? You fell to the ground, not onto a knife. A hacking cough pulls itself and some blood from your lungs. You can feel it, each breath is smaller and takes more work.

 

_Man, just breathing, that’s something people take for granted. Having to think it to make sure it happens, that sucks._

 

C is still holding your hands, and every breath that you drew in is ragged and sticky. You try to squeeze your hand, _it’ll be fine right? Just load back right? Chara, you don’t have to worry so much,_ but your hand isn’t moving. It feels both freezing cold and burning hot and sticky, dear god why do you feel so sticky?

 

_I-It … it’s my blood, isn’t it._

 

You decide that you **hate** that feeling. Well any feeling right now, because all of it is pain.

 

_I can feel my bones, they’re broken._

_I’m in pieces._

 

You knew dying would be painful, you always knew. It was probably part of the reason why you were still alive (one part stubbornness, one part laziness, and one part fear) but here you are _dying_ and oh god it’s getting harder to even focus on breathing with this searing hurt. But you never realized how _uncomfortable_ it is. God bleeding is such a gross feeling.

 

 _Funny, right? I’m dying and I can’t even focus on that, I'm too worried about how_ sticky _bleeding out feels._

 

The pain is beginning to get to be too much, each breath is a gasp for life that you don’t even want at this point. Chara is still whispering to you - how sweet, at least you won’t die alone.

 

Is it going white or black?

 

The pain feels red, but your vision isn’t - it’s fading.

 

Is it fading to white, or to black?

 

…

 

…

 

…

 

Black.

 

Definitely black.

 

Dark, darker, yet darker.

* * *

You can see a small dog in the gaps in the door. _How cute!_ You then feel totally nauseous and crumble into a heap on the ground. Something is wrong, oh god, what happened to you? Something is very _wrong_.

“C, what was that.” All you manage is a breathy whisper.

It takes a moment, but Chara appears in front of you. Their flowers are an inky black and in the weird light, you can almost see tear marks on their cheeks. “You died.”

“Was that a load?”

“Yeah.” They won’t come anywhere near you, and honestly, you don’t mind one bit. You honestly don’t think you could have another person touching you right now. Or at all, again, ever.

“I don’t feel sticky.” You run your hands up and down your walking stick, taking comfort in the texture. It feels real.

Chara doesn’t say anything to that, they just walk to the end of their tether and peek out the exit. As they move, you can see them shaking. Are you shaking?

 

_I just died. Now I know what it feels like. That was awful! But, not as bad as I thought. One part stubbornness, one part laziness, one part fear. Well, now I guess I don’t need the fear!_

 

“Buddy, chill with the laughing, it’s creepy.” What?

“What?” Were you laughing? Why would you be laughing, you just _died_ for god’s sake. That is no laughing matter.

Chara comes back to stand beside you, and their flowers go from black to brown. Honestly the whole “flowers” thing seems a little excessive, but honestly, everything about them seems excessive so you can’t say much. Their entire outward personality seems like it was constructed - by a very angsty pre-teen, no less, and that fits Chara to a “T”.

“You _were_ laughing.” They sound disgusted. You’re a little disgusted. Even if you know you’re physically fine, it’s like the ghost of your injuries is still there - you still feel broken. “Look, I know that that sucked complete balls. Trust me, I know, Frisky. So if you need to talk about it, I’m here. Just, seriously chill with the fucking giggling. And remember, time went back. None of that happened, nobody but you and I know what happened, so don’t freak out when they act like nothing happened. To them, nothing _did_ happen.”

“Ok.” Why would you talk to them, though, this freaky little dead child? You can hear yourself laughing again, and remind yourself to stop. They had asked you to stop, right, so like a good person, you would.

“Do you need to talk?”

Talking is hard, why would you want to do that? “No.” You push yourself up and thank the high heavens for having the foresight to bring the stick. Now that you are standing, you begin to realize just how shell-shocked you are. Everything about you is shaking. The exit is just a little beyond you, outside lights are filtering in.

“We are going to need to keep going, aren’t we. None of that ever happened so I have to pretend like nothing has changed.”

Their tears look like ooze not water - the same ooze that covers the parts of their soul. “Yeah, Frisk.”

You push yourself to start walking. Once you pass Chara, they fade away. You keep going, though, gotta pretend nothing happened right? And if nothing had happened, you would leave this cave and head back towards Papyrus and Sans. They were both outside of the cave, so now you would have to go outside the cave. You stop thinking about anything that isn’t what you would be doing if nothing would be happening.

Outside you go.

You blink at the sudden brightness, the cave had only had glowing fungi for light, this is much lighter. Once your vision clears, you can see Sans leaning against the rock wall, with the trademark grin and the suspicious eyes. He hadn’t been there the first time.

His sudden arrival does nothing to keep you calm.“i hope you're done, we _grotto_ get going again.”

“That was bad.” You breathe out, barely louder than anything you might say to Chara. It’s the best you can do right now, though, you’re still freaking out hardcore in a private section of your mind.

Sans hears it, however (which makes you wonder just how much he can hear of your private ghost conversations. It also makes you wonder how he hears without ears, but that is irrelevant.) and feels the need to defend himself, apparently. “they can’t all be winners ya know.”

You hum in response and begin to slowly make your way past him and back towards the object of your demise.

 

_Wow. It killed me. I died. And now I need to go over that bridge again._

 

You shudder, but keep going. Got to keep going. You cling to the idea that once you finish this you can go home. You cling to the crumpled letter you’ve taken to keeping in your jacket pocket these past few days. You cling to the subtle scents on the wind and the crunch of the snow underfoot that proves this is real. You cling to still being alive.

 

You are **determined** to stay that way.

 

“you’re really goin’ fast there kiddo. looking forward to pap’s last puzzle?” Although you hear no footsteps, Sans manages to keep pace with you.

“Just looking to getting it over with.” You don’t slow to respond.

“that’s _puzzling_. why the sudden change of heart?”

This time, you stop and turn around to face him, sporting your biggest smile. Somewhere in the back of your mind, you remember that people used to call it creepy. “Not in the mood for things that can kill me!”

For a split second you can see something like fear in his eye-sockets (they widen and his pupils dilate). _Hey C? Can Sans remember the time that was erased?_

Chara doesn’t respond and you try to not let that bother you.

You reorient yourself and continue forwards - Sans didn’t have anything else witty to say.

* * *

The bridge is in front of you, ominous. Underneath it, the long drop still awaits. You wonder if it wants to eat you whole again, but steel yourself to that. It had had you once but never again. You were far too **determined** for that.

Even though you had never noticed, Sans had apparently stopped following you at some point and managed to get ahead. Once again, he is waiting with Papyrus for you to cross the bridge.

Well, you’d hate to keep them waiting. You take a step forward. There is determination running through your veins, but it doesn’t take away the jolt of fear you get at hearing the wood groan softly. You take another step. The adrenaline starts rushing in a way that’s almost pleasant. You can do this.

One foot in front of the other, quietly dealing with the flopping of your own stomach, you make your way to the middle of the bridge. This had been where Papyrus had started talking, so naturally you had stopped. This time, you don’t.

Papyrus begins to say something but you hold up a single finger and keep going. The universal sign for “Wait one moment, please” comes to your rescue. But then again, he didn’t seem as excited as he had the first time. You wonder a little if he can remember anything from the erased time. Although it would be a little crazy, you can remember. So can C. And maybe even Sans, so why wouldn’t his brother? You still have no idea if Sans can actually recall anything, or if he had only shown up out of pure coincidence. Anyways, this time, Papyrus doesn’t bring out the final puzzle and you make it across easily.

Both you and Chara audibly let out a sigh of relief - _Yet again, I have to wonder if they can hear Chara_ \- before thanking Papyrus for waiting until you had reached the other side.

“So what was it you wanted to tell me?” You ask him, already knowing exactly what he wanted.

“N-NOTHING. I JUST WANTED TO CONGRATULATE YOU FOR MAKING IT ALL THE WAY TO SNOWDIN, THAT IS VERY IMPRESSIVE FOR A HUMAN.”

You giggle a little at his flustered expression _(gotta pretend like nothing happened)_ before saying anything. “Thank you, Papyrus. I really did enjoy all those puzzles.”

Both he and Sans nod approvingly. Of course you would enjoy them, the Great Papyrus made them. Of course.

“But … it is rather cold out. Do you think you could point me towards the Inn? I think I could use a nap.” This whole day has been exhausting. You don’t have any other words to describe it, just _exhausting_.

You want to sleep for a million years. That’s do-able, right? Well, you decide, even if it isn’t you’re going to try.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not going to make any promises about when the next chapter will come. Just that it will.
> 
> so tell me what you thought of this 9543 word long chapter.


	17. I've Decided to Come Clean but Only Because You Won't Stop Begging.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> :) :^) :-) :~) :') :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tweeked the layout of Snowdin just a tad so that it works better with the story.  
> Who knows, maybe in the (???) # of years since Frisk _should_ have fallen the Inn moved around?  
>  w/e i'm claiming creative liberty and calling it a night
> 
> ALSO if ur interested in what i invision Chara to look like in this au, insterdisc5's chara art is pretty on the mark. Just add the godawful flower crown that doesn't sit on their head properly and covers their eyes. and braces.

You roll onto your side and stare at the wall. The Innkeeper was kind, she had given you a room at the far end of the hall, away from the other occupants. You could hear their loud snoring even as you walked by. It would be a wonder if anyone managed to sleep through that.

Although you were in what would usually be a perfect atmosphere to sleep, you can’t. Every time you close your eyes you can see the quick rush of rock walls and the red pools the began to surround you. Sleep is currently unobtainable, and that is just making this silence suffocating. Chara has been avoiding you ever since you stepped off that bridge, and even though you know they can hear everything you are saying to them, they won;t respond. Right now, all you want are some answers.

Normally, the place to go would be the notebook. It was weirdly knowledgeable about all sorts of weird things, but there wasn’t even a whiff of “ **Saves** ” or “ **Loads** ”. The letter you’ve now read a million times said a little bit about the flow of time, but honestly that bit was just as confusing and just as unhelpful as Chara was being.

“C?” you whisper to the dead air. There is no response. “Well, even if you aren’t going to listen, I’m still going to talk.

“That was, terrifying, you know. I keep taking breaths and getting surprised at how painless they feel, or just moving my hand around to prove I still have control of it.” You roll onto your back and raise both arms above you, breathing a sigh of relief when they follow your will without strain.

“I’m glad that I’m still so scared of it though. There are plenty of things that I’m scared of, but they all contribute something to who I am. I don’t think I want to lose the fear of death. I don’t think I would be a very good person, if I lost that.

“That doesn’t make it okay though, and as much as I’m glad it got “reversed” I don’t want to have to go through it again. I just… C, I don’t know what I’m doing here. I have no idea what the hell I’m doing with the **saves** and **loads** , I mean, they make sense in a videogame style. But this isn’t that - it’s real life.” The room begins to smell like flowers, but you don’t take your eyes off the ceiling above you.

“It’s almost exactly like a video game.” Chara’s voice is quiet but rough. It reminds you of the last time you lost your voice.

That had been from crying.

“Oh.” That explains that? “Thanks C.”

 

 _Should I say anything else? I … don’t have anything else to say, but this silence is so uncomfortable.  
_ _There are probably some things I_ should _want to talk about, but I don’t feel much of anything right now. Nothing - just uncomfortable. In my own skin, in my own head, in my own life.  
_ _I… I really just want to nap._

 

You close your eyes and roll to your side. Flashes of red still invaded your mind’s eye, but honestly, you were beginning to feel to tired to care. All you needed was some rest. You force your breathing to level out and relax each tense muscle in time with the beating of your heart.

 

_Ba-bump_

 

“I - What happened today was my fault. I should have been more attentive.” It wasn’t though, it had just been an accident.

 

_Ba-bump_

 

“It wasn’t your fault C.” They huff in distaste, but wish you a good rest anyways. Tomorrow will be a new day, they tell you.

 

_Ba-bump_

 

All you have to do is make friends right? So tomorrow you would explore the town and try to make a good impression on as many people as possible.

 

_Ba-bump_

 

Make friends, be peaceful, stay determined. A new day.

 

_Ba-bump_

 

_Ba-bump_

 

_Ba-bump_

* * *

_Falling._

_Always falling._

_Why are we always falling?_

_We turn to one side and see rocks speed past._

_Are we falling into the Underground again?_

_Something yellow breaks our fall._

_No, not yellow._

_Golden._

_I try to get us up, we need to move._

_It’ll kill us if we stay here, please move!_

_…_

_Perhaps it would all be better if it did._

_Perhaps we will always be falling, in one way or another._

_Perhaps this time, the fall will kill us._

_…_

_Red on yellow, we’ve hit flowers._

_Red on purple, we’ve hit the walls._

_Red on pale blue, we’ve hit ice._

_Red on black, we’ve hit stone._

_Red on gold…_

_We are falling again but this time -_

_This time all I see is red on gold._

* * *

You shoot up like a light, sweat sticking your hair to your forehead. Red, red, red. You feel sick. The adjoining washroom is only a few steps away, but each one feels like a thousand. By the time you make it there, it’s a wonder the things inside your stomach are still in there. The cold porcelain of the sink is a shock to your overheated skin. You grip the edges and try to calm your stomach down, your gaze stuck on the clean white fixture.

 

_Breathe in. 7 6 5 4 3 2 1._

 

You unclench your hands from the sink and clasp them together. It feels real, you’re no longer asleep.

 

_Breathe out. 7 6 5 4 3 2 1._

 

Awake. You are awake. You turn the water on and splash your face. Your reflection in the mirror looks haggard, and you’re still shaking.

 

_Breathe in. Breathe out._

 

You just stand there, looking at your reflection with the water running, for a few minutes at least. Long enough that you can’t really remember what you were dreaming about, just the colour red and feeling sticky ... Actually, nope, you can picture what you had been dreaming about.

Welp, you decide that there is no way you are going back to sleep and so you decide to entertain one of your worst habits ever - late night walks. Now normally, this is a bad idea. Walking the streets of a city like your own, in your not particularly shining neighbourhood, in the early morning is bad enough, but then mix in a _slight_ fear of the dark that never really went away as you grew up? Terrible, terrible idea. You grab your jacket and both phones and quietly leave the hotel room - Chara is still, uh, sleeping.

The snores down the hall are still going strong, at least someone is getting a good night’s rest. You quickly duck down and out of the Inn, walking through the doors back to the cold. At least this time you remembered to grab you coat, there had been several times, long before you fell, that you had forgotten outerwear. Once, you had even forgotten shoes, at least until you stepped in a _lovely_ gift Dog had left you. Thinking about home makes you a little sad though, so you elect to just focus on walking and taking in the night-sights of Snowdin.

 

_I can’t even remember if I gave a proper goodbye._

 

No, now isn’t the time to be thinking about that. No, no, you should think instead of the fun you had doing puzzles with Papyrus today. The ice one had been particularly _cool_. Hehe.

You end up so distracted by your own pun that you trip over something _(my own feet probably)_ and fall over. As much as you hate to admit it, this was at least the eighth time you’ve fallen down like this in the last 24 hours. A new record, one that you could be very proud of once you stopped being embarrassed by it. You pick yourself up and take stock of your current situation.

Coat: slightly ruffled

Pajamas: A little wet around knees

Phone(s): Still fine

Palms: Slightly skinned & still shaking

You wince at the tiny scrapes on your hands, but then again, you’ve been through a lot worse today. These were nothing, and you could handle anything compared to _that._ Besides, you were out here to move past it and find some sense of normalcy. You’re still quivering a little though, so after brushing yourself off, you keep walking.

The streets here are so pretty, you have to keep reminding yourself to keep track of where your feet are. The buildings are quaint and comfortable looking, their exteriors reminding you of wooden cabins from children's’ books. Despite how late it is, some windows still have soft lights streaming through them and many houses appear to have christmas decorations up. You can make out what looks to be a christmas tree just over the tops of the homes in front of you.

 

_How strange… Christmas was a few weeks ago, and they still have their tree up?_

 

You pick your paths carefully to try and get closer to it, completely forgetting to mark your progress in some way so you don’t get totally lost. Snowdin is a much larger town and you expected. As you walk the streets you notice that they are more of paths than anything, over glorified and overused walking trails instead of roads. But, that shouldn’t be as much of a surprise as it is. Vehicles would be completely impractical here in the Underground. And how would they even get a car down here? Or even the materials to make one? You stop yourself, the monsters obviously had a lot of technology. So much in fact, that this felt more like visiting a rural town more so than another civilization? Did this count as a separate civilization? Hadn’t someone told you that the monsters were trapped down here because of a barrier, one that humans had put up in the not so distant past?

Or had you just … imagined that?

You shake your head, trying to get the weird thoughts out of your mind. Just because it was stupid-late at night didn’t mean that your brain was allowed to think whatever it wants.You grab one of the phones (the flip Toriel had given you) and check the time. 3:00 am. God, what are you doing even alive right now? It’s much too late/early to be a person. Wait, the phone, why did did you suddenly feel like you were forgetting something? Well other than Chara of course, who you purposefully left at the Inn. They blamed themself for earlier, letting them know that you were having nightmares about falling wouldn’t make the situation any better. Now, what could you be forgetting?

You’re now in the clear where the giant christmas tree resides, but you’re no longer focused solely on it. You look around for a moment before spotting a bench not totally covered in snow and decide to take a seat. In the soft glow of Christmas lights from the giant tree you take a seat and try to figure out what it was. The phone, the one Toriel had given you, so that you could …?

“Aw shit! That’s right! I knew I should have done earlier! I hope it isn’t too late.” You mutter to yourself while loading up the contacts on the flip. She had said her number was in there right? And even a late call was better than none at all, you just hope that she wasn’t worried. You had been fine. Mostly. You press the call button an -

“whatcha got there, kiddo?”

You shriek. Not yell, not squeak, a full blown Wilhelm scream at three in the goddamned morning. It even echos a little.

“whoa, you’re fine, kiddo. s’just me.” Sans comes from somewhere, you aren’t really sure, with his hands up in a gesture of peace.

You slowly unclench your hand from it’s place over your heart _(soul)_ and take a deep breath.

 

_7 6 5 4 3 2 1_

 

“Please don’t do that, especially not at night.” You do your best not to glare at him, but you have no idea how well that goes.

Sans looks a little fearful. The same way he did when you first ran into him after **loading** . “ _tibia_ honest, i’d do just about anything to not hear that noise again. or not do, i guess.” The nervous chuckle he lets out feels like retribution _(good, be uncomfortable)_ and you relent a little.

The flip is still open in your hands, but now is probably not the time to be making such a call. You close it gently before sliding down the bench a ways and motioning to Sans that he can with with you. “So what’s a respectable monster like you doing awake at a time like this?”

“i could ask the same to you.” He sits, going from an anxious pose to completely relaxed. You suddenly wish you could do that.

“Ah, but would you really want to know?”

“humans in the underground are a danger to everyone.” That sounds familiar. “it’s my job as a guardsman to keep them safe.”

This sounds _really_ familiar. Chara had told you not to be so quick to trust him.

“so i _would_ really want to know what a human like you is doing awake at a time like this.” Sans _had_ been looking up at the tree, while you shifted your gaze way too fast for comfort, but he punctuated the end of his statement by turning his head. You have to shove a scream back down your throat.

His eye sockets are completely dark, and his mouth stretched too wide. You didn’t need to be afraid of the dark to be scared right now, Sans was taking care of that single-handedly.

“so, **buddy** , care to share?”

“C-couldn’t sleep, went for a walk.” You clear your throat. “Saw the tree and then ... Got lost?” Shit, you realize as you say it that you have no idea how to get back to the Inn. You curse, yet again, leaving Chara behind. Oh what a huge help your ghost-pal would be right now.

Sans is still glaring at you, but you can almost pick out the lights of his pupils _(is that what those are? Would it be rude to ask?)_ . “not planning anything i should be worried about?” You shake your head fast enough to make you a little dizzy. “good, because between you and me, that’d make for one hell of a **bad time**.”

This time you nod vigorously - anything to get him to stop looking at you like _prey._

“good, good.” He goes back to looking at the tree. After another moment, one you spend heavily considering taking your chances running away from the freaky skeleton, you too turn to the tree.

The glow of the lights is comforting, it reminds you of home. Nobody in your neighbourhood had taken theirs down by the time you left.

 

_Wait ... How did I remember that? Is it beginning to come back to me?_

 

You try your hardest to remember anything else, but nothing comes to mind. Disappointed, you chalk it up to your imagination, or memories of another time in another place. The large tree doesn’t stop glowing though, so you don’t stop watching it. A feeling of home, even fleeting or unsatisfying was better than nothing.

“so you’re going to try and get out, right?” Sans doesn’t turn back to you. In fact, it almost seems like he moved further away while you were lost in thought.

“Yeah. Don’t really have much of a choice, though, do I.” It isn’t a question.

“don’t you?”

“Not in the slightest.” You really didn’t have a choice. The whole reason you were in the Underground was to get back out again.

You and Sans watch the tree flicker silently for what seems like forever. That is until you remember that you still haven’t called Toriel to let her know you got to Snowdin safely.

“Hey is it okay if I take a call right now?” It’s only polite to ask.

Sans shrugs. “it’s your life. i can’t make that _call_ for you, kiddo.”

Snickering, you pull your borrowed cellphone out of your pocket and bring up Toriel’s contact. You press the call button and wait patiently while it rings out.

“Hey Tori! I know it’s super late and I really should have called earlier to let you know I made it safe, but I passed out the minute I got into town. I don’t have much to tell you, other than the snow is really pretty and but I haven’t forgotten my promise.” You were going to say something else but cut yourself off with a yawn. “Ah, sorry, Toriel. It’s pretty late right now, yeah? I’ll call again in the morning, probably. Once I’m not so tired at least.

“Welp, talk to you soon. Goodnight M-Tori.” You had been about to call her “Mother” again, but changed your mind at the last moment. There’s always next-time right? Besides, it would probably seem a little weird to Sans…

 

_Why do I care what he thinks? He literally made a threat against my life earlier._

 

You lean back a little and shift your gaze from the tree to the inky black where the ceiling of the cavern is.

 

_I suppose he’s coming from a good place, though. That’s just how a guardian should be, protective and loyal._

 

You yawn again and lean your head against the back of the bench. Maybe you should ask directions to the Inn, and sleep in a bed instead of on some random bench. But, instead you close your eyes, only for a moment.

* * *

 

_The colour red doesn’t suit you._

_Neither does any other, no no._

_Only grey._

_Only black and white and grey suit you._

_You keep the red for contrast though._

_It’s harder to forget something with harsh contrast._

_It’s harder to forget black and white and grey and_ _red_ _._

* * *

 

You are awoken by a hard hand gently shaking you. “kid, c’mon. wake up. you cannot be comfortable, curled up like that.”

“Mmmmm too early, lemme sleep.” Eyes closed and yawning, you rub your face and try to curl tighter in on yourself. It’s a little chilly though, and you face feels wet. As much as you would normally care - _sleep tears, gross -_ you just really want to go back to sleep.

“no, no more of that kid. at least not till we get you back home.” It registers that whoever is talking is laughing a little at you. That’s fine, who cares as long as they let you sleep.

Something - someone picks you up, and even though it’s a lot less soft than being carried normally would be, you begin to drift in and out of consciousness. “Thanks,” you mumble. More quiet laughter and you are out like a light.

* * *

_Falling._

_Flying._

_Moving fast?_

_Black - grey - white - red._

_Falling._

_Falling!_

_…_

_Red._

* * *

_Hey. Frisky, wake up._ You roll over and try to ignore the voice in your ear.  _No, no. don’t do that. C’mon wake up! I need to talk to you, asshole._

 _So talk._ You try to rub the sleep out of your eyes and find your cheeks are wet. Wonderful.

_So you disappear like halfway through the night, and just before I decide to take matters into my own hands, the fucking smiley trashbag shoes up. With you. And he still hasn’t left? Make him go away so I can berate you properly!_

Wow, even more wonderful! You get to deal with annoying Chara AND nosey/scary Sans right after waking. And, to top it all off, you had been crying in your sleep. At least one of them was going to ask you about that. Ugh, they are both unsettling and you’d prefer to deal with neither. Whatever you had been dreaming about had seriously made your morning outlook worse.

You rub your face dry on the pillowcase before pushing yourself up and taking a look around the room. Just as expected, Sans is in one of the chairs that are pushed up near the wall, asleep.

 

_He looks peaceful…_

 

 _Do we really have to wake him up?_ This skeleton looks nothing like the one who scared the fucking daylights out of you last night. The longer you can keep him like that, the better.

_YES._

You sigh. _After breakfast, though. I need to eat something before I deal with_ either _of you._ You pull your shoes on (which had been removed prior to you being placed in the bed? How _sweet_. Sarcasm. ) and are just about to leave when you stop. Perhaps you should leave a note? (Keep your friends close and your enemies closer, right?) You grab your backpack and pull the notebook out. After finding a pencil floating around somewhere near the bottom, you flip through the papers trying to find one you could tear out. Once you get to the end, a small envelope falls out.

_What’s that?_

You pick it up and flip it over. _I think it’s the other letter? I had forgotten there were two._

_Oh. Right. Are you going to give it to him?_ You can feel them peering over your shoulder, filling your nose with the scent of flowers.

After a moment’s consideration, you shove the letter in you pocket, beside the one already there. You write the note you had planned, saying you had just left to grab food and leave it on your pillow. _Not yet. I don’t know what it says, so I’d like to do some damage control when_ he _does read it._

_Oh!_  The giggle, excited.  _So_ you’re _planning to read it then! I didn’t know you could be so interesting Frisky!_

_No!_ That would be rude. It wasn’t for you, and so you wouldn’t do it. _No, just - I’d rather be here to explain in person I have no idea where it came from or who wrote it. That’s too much to leave on a tiny note._ You exit your room quietly and head in the direction of the store downstairs. The question of whether they serve continental breakfast has taken over your mind.

* * *

No, they didn’t. You don’t mind to much though, the shopkeep gave you a discount on your pair of cinnamon bunnies because you were staying at the Inn.

“My sister runs it,” the nice rabbit monster told you. “I know her prices may be high, but it’s the best Inn in the Underground. Besides, she’s trying to send her son off to college.”

“College?” You had asked, perplexed.

“Yeah, apparently he got accepted to the Tem college. Which is weird for a rabbit, but whatever. As long as he’s happy.”

Asking her as to what the everliving fuck a “Tem” was would obviously notify her of your human nature, so you decided to just eat in your room. Away from all the weird.

 

_Seriously, though, what is a Tem._

 

You open the door to your hotel room quietly, in case the guest is still sleeping. He isn’t, you notice immediately. Sans is, in fact, standing flushed in front of the door, his arm outstretched. _Was probably just about to leave, huh._

“uh, hey.” The door closes behind you when you enter.

“Hey.” You brush past him to sit on the bed. After a moment you unwrap the two pastries and hold one out to him. “Care for some breakfast?”

Sans gives you a suspicious look for a moment, before taking the cinnamon bunny from you. “do you remember passing out in the middle of town?”

“Mmmmm -” Man, this really is a tasty snack. You decide it was worth every penny (well, gold piece technically) that you paid for it. “A little? Hey, care to explain the giant Christmas tree? That holiday has already come and gone, why is it still up?”

Although you didn’t see it, Sans has already eaten half of his. _Jeez,_ _hungry much?_ “giving gifts to people you care about should not be limited to just one day, so we keep it up  year round. to remind people. now that i’ve _gifted_ you with that knowledge, be serious. do you remember your little midnight stroll around snowdin?”

Well, that lasted about as long as you thought it would, he comes back the super scary Sans. “I remember that I had a nightmare and then went for a walk, got lost, found the huge tree, ran into … you? After that, I must have fallen asleep.”

 

 _AHHHHHHHHH STUPID. STUPID STUPID STUPID. That’s a terrible thing to do in a town you know full of humans, imagine how much worse it must be in an unknown place with unknown people. On top of that! I was right beside him, the one that literally threatened my_ life _. stupid stupid stupid._

 

It seems to throw him for a loop somehow. “nightmares?”

_You’re spilling too many of the beans there Frisky._ Man, not even noon and you’re already fucking today up. You have such _high_ hopes for how the rest of the day is going to play out. “Uh, yeah. I think I’ve developed a fear of heights.”

You chuckle nervously for a moment while he just stares at you blankly. After (nervously) eating the last of your breakfast you go to (nervously) shove your hands in your jacket pockets, but find them both full. Both phones in one, and two letters in the other. You pull all four items out.

“Uhm. This is for you.” You pass Sans the letter addressed to him and put the other things in your backpack.

He takes it hesitantly like it might bite. You don’t blame him, you were human after all, the enemy. “I don’t know who wrote it, nor what’s in it, but I had it with me when I fell. If that means anything to you.”

_You’re still saying too much…_

Sans tears open the envelope and pulls out a scrap of paper. A literal scrap, it looks like the torn off corner of some paper. You has received a proper letter, and him a scrap? To be honest, you’d laugh if you weren’t so unnerved by Sans.

_Go read it._

_What?_

_Read it over his shoulder, C. Don’t tell me what’s on it as long as it doesn’t name us an enemy._

_I say again, what?_ You shake your head softly and turn away from Sans.

_I just want to make sure it doesn’t say anything bad about us. Like “The fallen human should be killed on sight.” As long as it isn’t that, don’t tell me. It isn’t my business in that case._

_Finally,_ they chuckle and move away from you.  _you let me do something fun._

You move to pack up the few belongings you took out of your bag, then grab the day’s clothes and change in the washroom.

When you return, Sans is lazing about, obviously waiting for you to come back.

_It’s clear._ Chara sounds dejected when they report back to you. Well, at least they did as you asked. _Thanks, C._

“Is there anything else you need from me, Sans?”

“where’d you say you got this?” He waves the scrap in the air. You purposefully aren't looking at it.

“In my bag when I fell,” You motion to the bag you were currently repacking. “along with a few other things that I wouldn’t have normally had. I uh, I would have given it to you earlier but I had forgotten I had it. Sorry.”

_Are you_ sure _you don’t want to know what it said?_

_Absolutely._

Everything now properly packed away, you have nothing else to do so you sit. Sans hadn’t risen from the seat he had taken when you came back with food.

He looks lost in thought and it takes long enough for him to say anything that you consider looking through the phone Tori gave you for games. Or even turning yours back on to play something. “when do you plan on leaving town?”

You look up from your devices to see him watching you. It’s very unsettling. “Uhm, I was planning on the day after tomorrow, but I can always leave earlier.”

Look, if this guy wanted you to leave, you’d leave. No questions asked.

“and you're staying here, all those nights?”

Seriously! If he said “gone” you’d get.

“I mean, where else would I stay?”  _Frisky, don’t ask that. Don’t go there!_

“you could always stay with pap and me.”

_Oh no. Don't listen to him._

“he’s been getting pretty _bonely_ lately. i think it would be good for him” Curse Sans for bringing Papyrus into this.

_Seriously, don’t._

“and this place is expensive.”

_I swear to god Frisk. I don’t want to be stuck with him 24/7._

“how much money can someone like you have anyways.” Double curse Sans for bringing your funds into this!

_I can see you considering it, Frisky._

“I … “ Chara _really_ doesn’t want you too, but Sans is right. You have enough money to stay for another two nights, but basically nothing else.

“don’t worry about making a choice right now. you’ve got plenty of time. humans like you are made of it.”

 

 _That doesn’t sound sinister_ at all. _Wait …  does he mean the_ **_loading_ ** _and other stuff like that?_

  
“Thanks, for the offer. Even if I don’t take it up.” You doubt that you will take him up on it, not when he's spouting weird shit like that. After a moment you stand, to exit. Sans follows suit, after a moment. As a pair _(trio)_ you leave the Inn and return to the chilly Snowdin air.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> first nightmare : falling. or being pushed/tossed.  
> second nightmare : ???? (can u guess?)  
> third nightmare : more falling
> 
> anyways tell me what you thought, love you, see you with the next update  
> mwah :* bye


	18. Contrary to Popular Belief, Forefitting Doesn't Save You a Fight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> hey some things happen, also some other things happen. and Papyrus. so much Papyrus.  
> I love papyrus  
> its another fairly long chapter, but y'all seem to like that so..

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 2000+ Hits!!! wow!!!!!  
> 130+ Kudos!!! amazing!!!  
> what an adventure!!!!!

Much to Chara’s chagrin, Sans followed you through most of the day. He provided the occasional bit of commentary and more than a few tasteful puns that were funnier with the proper context. None of it changed the fact you were completely unsettled by him. There was no denying the skeleton knew something, but Chara was adamant that his only threat was to their sanity. “ _He won’t hurt you, but he might not help either. Think chaotic neutral_ ” that didn't do anything to calm your nerves.

Too many _interesting_ people were technically chaotic neutral and perfectly murder-y.

 

_Isn’t Deadpool chaotic neutral?_

 

Besides, he seemed much more of a lawful neutral, or maybe chaotic good? You don’t really understand how the whole alignment thing works anyways. But, when you thought about it, Sans’ demeanor towards you had almost totally changed. Suddenly he seemed less wary of you. Not trusting, but at least not worried that you and your human hands would do something horrible. That was honestly the most unsettling part. You spent a good deal of the day weighing the pros and cons of asking Chara what Sans’ letter had actually said. You don’t consider it for long though, as much as you would love to know, they already gave you all the knowledge you actually needed. Plus that would be giving into their whims, and you were not about to just give into the lil brat’s whining.

Throughout the day, you and Chara talked about the prospect of staying with the skeleton brothers during the rest of your duration in Snowdin. Although neither of you really enjoyed the prospect _(Sans is kinda creepy,_ _ Papyrus is usually loud,) _ it really did make the most sense _(Papyrus is a lot of fun,_ _ we’ll have more gold to spend on necessities.) _ Besides, the day had gone just about as bad as you thought it would. Doing this seriously would not make it any worse.

First, while wandering the streets you got cornered by the married dogs again. With Sans nowhere to be found, you had to attempt yesterday’s tactic of rolling around in the dirt and snow. Upside: you’re safe from their invasive noses, downside: you’re covered in dirt and muddy snow and are now feeling pretty gross.

Sans came back almost the minute Dogamy and Dogaressa left.

Next you got lost. It wasn’t _that_ bad, the residents of Snowdin that actually acknowledged you were polite. But you were still lost in an unfamiliar town with people you don’t know and your anxiety was having a hay day. By the time you were back near anywheres where you could even pretend to know where you were going at least an hour had passed and you were freezing. Why was it so cold? Why was Snowdin so big? You have so many questions, a lot of them relate to “why on earth do you think _you_ would be able to do this?” or something similar. Sans was there for most of it. He didn’t do anything to help - just more puns.

Then there was lunch. It actually wasn’t that bad, Sans took you to Grillby’s again. Nobody paid you any attention, just like the first time and you were able to eat in relative peace. Chara was surprisingly absent through most of it, but you figure they probably had something to do with the jukebox playing “What’s New Pussycat” at least 7 times a row before you left. When you were just opening the door to leave, “It’s Not Unusual” was just finishing the first verse, patrons were practically crying in relief.

After lunch you wandered through a shopping district, talking with C about just what you would need when you left Snowdin. Where was next, Waterfall? That means water. Which means rubber boots? By the time you had gathered together a small list, you and Chara decided that it would probably be best to stay with Sans. This is fine and all, but the idea of broaching the subject set your anxiety off again. It’s not like you can just go “Hey, remembered when you offered to let me stay with you and I said “mmmmh probably not”? Well actually, I’d like to do just that.” right? You fretted over it for a very long time while you’re pretty sure Chara tied people’s shoes together.

Now, the idea of monsters wearing shoes is a little weird to you. This is probably because a large amount of the monsters you have met so far are rather furry. So, speaking from your very limited knowledge from a very strange human subculture, anthropomorphic people shouldn’t be wearing shoes. Yet, here you are in a town of Furries and at least half are wearing shoes.

You’re a little baffled to say the least. When you try to bring this up with Chara, mentioning the box of shoes Toriel had, they just snicker and promise to tell you one day. Not a pleasing answer if you’ve ever heard one, but it’ll do for now.

Speaking of now though, the figurative daylight has all be spent and evening is fast approaching. You and Sans are now standing around near one of the town’s entrances, waiting for his brother to return from wherever he works. Other than the wolf throwing blocks of ice into the ocean behind you and the whistle of the wind, it’s almost totally silent. Now would be the perfect time to speak, right? Probably, but you’re still too nervous.

“ _chilly_ atmosphere huh.” SHit shit shit shit shit he’s picked up your stupid weirdness. “don’t worry. pap should be here soon.”

“So where did he go anyways?” You’re proud of how little your voice shakes. _Points to the human!_

Sans lazily turns to you and his grin grows a little. “he works, out in hotland. good job with people he likes. couldn’t be any more happy, i guess. if he’s happy i’m happy.” Barely two days since you’ve met him, and you’re already pretty accustomed to just how much Sans cares for his brother. With impeccable timing, Papyrus comes into sight just as Sans finishes speaking.

“SANS! HELLO BROTHER, IT IS VERY SWEET OF YOU TO BE WAITING FOR ME.” Even from this distance, Papyrus’ voice is a lil bit too loud. “AND HUMAN! THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR COMING OUT TO WELCOME ME BACK TO TOWN.”

“Hiya Papyrus! How was your day?” You call back, nowheres near as loud as he was. Instead of answering, Pap just starts sprinting towards you.

_He’s too loud. I can’t think._ You can practically hear the frown in C’s voice. _Sorry kid. I can ask him to quiet down a lil?_

_Please do_ . Papyrus comes to a skidding halt mere inches in front of you.

When he talks, you can feel the vibrations - the truest sign of too high a volume. “IT WENT VERY WELL, THANK YOU FOR ASKING, HUMAN.”

“That’s real good Paps,” You do your best to return his enthusiastic grin instead of wincing, “but couldja maybe talk a little bit quieter?”

You can practically feel Sans smile strain beside you, but _look. buddy. ya bro is a great guy but he’s a lil too loud._ “AH SO-Sorry. Is This Better?” Papyrus gives you a patient smile.

 

_So accommodating… What a great person…_

 

“Much, thank you.” You can almost feel C relax. Better for both of you then, that's good. “So, what all did you get done today? It wasn’t very interesting here, so I’d love to hear all about what you did.”

It was both completely honest and a good out so you can distract yourself from Sans. Like in general - he’s kind of tiring to have to deal with for long periods of time when you're both kind of suspicious of the other.

“Well, I Am Unsure If Sans Told You, But I Am A Cook! Today I Made Many Masterpieces That Satisfied All Who Ate Them! Are You Going To Be Staying With Us For Supper Tonight? I Am Very Excited To Prepare For You, My Trademark Meal - Spaghetti!” Needless to say, you are in awe.

_Hadn’t he made that plate of spaghetti we saw yesterday, the inedible one covered in glitter?_

_I don’t know what to say to make you feel better Frisky. Just hope and pray._

You decide to hope and pray. “Uhm,” Sans gives you a nod of approval when you glance at him. “Yeah, sure Papyrus. I’ll stay for supper.”

The grin Sans is wearing seems to get genuinely happy, and Paps’ enthusiasm makes the whole shittty day worth it. _C, he’s so sweet. How can a living person be so nice?_

_Monsters are made of love, you know. But yeah. Papyrus sure is something special, huh._

One whirlwind of bone and human limbs later, the three of you are now in the Skeleton brother’s house. You can remember passing by it a few times at least in your wandering, and Sans never said a word. Well, you are here now. The two story abode is cozy in the same way your Uncle's house is and that makes you a little homesick. You keep expecting one of your cat’s to come running around a corner, but instead you keep finding a small rock in weird places. You consider picking it up but it looks perfectly happy in all the strange spots you’ve found it.

Once inside, you remove your jacket and backpack, setting them against the back of the couch, and follow Papyrus into the kitchen. Although you saw Sans come inside, there is no sign of him until you hear a door slam from somewheres else in the home. You take a cursory look around, trying to get what information you can without really going out and touching anything.

Papyrus noticed you doing that though, and tells you that you can look around. “Don’t Worry, Human. You Would Not Offend Sans Or I By Exploring The House. I Am Going To Begin Preparing Food For Our Meal, But Do Not Let That Stop You!”

You offer to help, but he practically pushes you out of the kitchen, saying that the guest should not be required to do such a thing. With his permission, you go back to give the home more than a cursory glance. In the living room there are the normal things, couch, television, side tables, framed sock, art on the walls - _hold up._

_What?_ Chara must have deemed it safe enough to float around because they appear (at a very low opacity level) at your shoulder.

 _It’s a framed sock, hung on the wall._ It isn’t actually this part that confuses you, some people enjoy weird art, it’s the next. _And these sticky notes attached to it go all the way to the floor?_

Some are actually _inside_ the frame _(more of a shadowbox, really)_ , but once you start reading them, you realize the ones inside are from a separate occasion than the ones outside. It starts with “SANS. PICK UP YOUR SOCK.” inside, and the last one you can see says “SANS. SITTING ON THE COUCH IS _NOT_ PICKING UP YOUR SOCK. PLAYING THE TROMBONE IS _ALSO_ NOT PICKING UP YOUR SOCK. PLEASE STOP DOING THAT WHEN YOU CAN SEE ME WRITING IT IS VERY DISTRACTING”.

_He probably only plays the trombone for all the bone jokes he can make with it._

You consider it for a moment, and realize there are other possibilities. _Don’t forget the comedically timed fan-fare_. You try to imitate the sound. It doesn’t work very well. Despite all efforts, you can’t keep a straight face.

_Oh of course, how could I miss that?_ The force of having to keep their laughter quiet sends C back in flips. You pause for a moment to wonder just how solid they are, and what it would feel like if they accidentally floated through the couch. Of course, this sets you off completely it goes from two quietly snickering humans to two boisterously laughing humans.

“HUMAN!” Papyrus yells to you from the kitchen, while you and Chara try to get yourselves under control. You don’t want to spill the beans about your tag-a-long. “ARE YOU LAUGHING AT THE SOCK?”

“Yeah Paps.” Chara fades in and out of total transparency while you take deep breaths.

“Human! I Am Sure It Seems Very Funny To An Outsider, But It Is Not! In Fact, That Sock Has Been In The Living Room For Years! I Tried To Have An Intervention Once, And That Was The Only Time It Has Ever Seen The Inside Of His Room In At Least A Decade!”

You’ve almost got yourself back under control, but you have the feeling this is heading downhill, fast. “So why is it still out here?”

“Because He Thinks That “this is an important part of our lives now papyrus, and the house feels empty without it” Or Something Equally Absurd. I Have No Idea What The Real Reason Is, But I Can Assure You, It Is Not That.” His impression of his brother is so on point that you get a little confused for a moment. Although you don’t go back to full on hearty laughter, neither you nor Chara can completely contain the small giggles at what Papyrus has said.

You and Chara move on to look at other things. On one wall there is a rather fancy looking painting of a bone. Directly across from it, there is another bone, this one is shadowboxed in a similar way to the sock. It’s more than a little weird to you, like someone framed a disembodied hand, but C says it is more like framing a sword. You aren’t quite sure what to do with that information so you move on again.

Before you get a chance to look at anything else, there is a click of a door being opened and Chara goes back to non-existance. In the earlier rush, the stairs at the back of the living room didn’t register as leading to another section of the house, but when Sans begins to step down them you actually make the connection.

 

_It has two stories, of course there would be an upstairs, dummy. Why didn’t I notice earlier? There aren’t even any other rooms down here, that should have tipped me off._

 

“ _lumb_ -are you enjoying the look around?” Sans asks with quiet intensity, drawing you out of your thoughts. Yet again, you get the feeling that his opinion or toleration of you depends on your answer.

It is not a fun feeling to have.

“Uh, yeah. I have to say, the framed -” You realize he made a bone pun mid-sentence and stop to glare a little. “They aren’t as funny when I actually have to think about them, you know.”

“everybody’s a critic.” He passes by you to head into the kitchen. You are almost proud of the little tinge of frustration in his voice, but then again, there is the chance he is only playing nice right now because it is convenient. With a tiny shudder, you resolve yourself to be a better guest. One that won’t tempt Sans to make good on his thinly veiled threat against you.

Once again, you are left slightly unsettled and mostly alone by the exit of the shorter Skeleton. In the background, you can hear the brother’s voices engaging in some conversation, just quiet enough for you to be unable to make out words. You continue to poke around for a few more minutes before Papyrus calls out that he has finished cooking.

When you enter the kitchen, Papyrus hands you a plate pre-laden with pasta and directs you back out towards the living room. “We Normally Just Eat In The Livingroom, I Hope This Is Not A Problem, Human.”

“Oh, of course not Paps! That is where I usually eat in my own home anyways.” Tables are a real hassle. Plus, you can’t watch your favourite shows from across the house.

Papyrus stops piling spaghetti onto his own plate to look at you. “Paps?”

If your hands weren’t full, you’d probably be wringing them right now. “Sorry! I tend to use nicknames for friends. I-I heard Sans use it earlier, but I can not use it if you’d prefer.”

Before you get the chance to mentally berate yourself again for being too forward, Papyrus sets down his plate begins to wipe his eyes. “I Didn’t Know That You Already Thought Of Me, The Great Papyrus, As A Friend, Human, Although I Knew That You Would In Time. Everyone Becomes A Friend Of Mine Eventually. I Hope You Are Honoured To Be Considered A Friend By Someone So Great, As I Am Honoured That We Have Become So Close After So Short A Time.” He literally wipes away a giant, neon orange tear. If it wasn’t for the huge and unquestioningly sincere smile he gave you next, you’d probably have wondered if he wasn’t just toying with you (people have a habit of that, you’ve noticed throughout the years).

You watch him for a moment or two more before he regains his composure and goes back to shoveling heaps of spaghetti onto his plate. You wonder, not for the first time, how either of the skeletons actually eats anyways. They literally don’t have throats, only neck vertebrae.

Letting your imagination take control of your thought process, your feet finally take you back into the living room. You completely ignore Sans, already sitting down, as you take your seat at the opposite end of the couch, in favour of letting your curiosity and imagination run wild.

_C, hey C. I have a question_

_Uh. Go ahead?_

_How do they eat? Like? Where does it go? Does the food just like dissolve in their mouth I am so confused?_ You don’t mention the idea of hollow vertebrae that works like a normal throat. But, considering that makes you wonder how they are able to speak. Where are the vocal cords? How do their bones stay together? Why are they able to shift their skulls to make different expressions??

_I have no goddamned idea. I’ve asked similar questions before, and nobody told me jack-shit then either. Just chalk it up to magic and call it a night, Frisky B._

You sigh a little at the lack of explanation and resign yourself to just having to let “Magic” cover most of the things that happen down here instead of getting a logical response. With that _(mostly)_ settled, you take your first bite of the food.

 

_It’s … really good?_

 

You aren’t sure what you expected, but the delicious flavours in your mouth were definitely not it. “Papyrus? This is the most delicious food I have had in a long time.”

There is a moment’s silence before Papyrus comes out from the kitchen, his own food in hand. “Of Course It Is, It Was Made By Me! Would You Ever Expect Anything Less From Someone As Great As I?”

You can practically feel Sans’ weird and overly analytical eyes on your back. “Of course not!” Now that you had tasted this, you doubt you would ever doubt Papyrus ever again.

“hey, paps. would’ja please _pasta_ me the ketchup?” Sans cuts in with a simple pun and request. In some part of your mind you wonder if he only tells when he’s in a good mood, or if it’s just when he’s trying to cover up being in a bad mood. In another you decide that it’s probably both.

Papyrus squints at Sans while making “tsk tsk” motions before passing his food to you to hold and going back to the kitchen to grab the requested condiment. “Sans, We Do Not Need You Ruining A Good Dinner Between Friends.”

Once he comes back into the room, he holds the bottle out to Sans but pulls it back at the last moment. They share a look and a silent sibling conversation before Papyrus hands it off and takes his food back from you. After a moment, he sits between you and Sans and the three of you eat in contented silence.

The meal passes soon enough and Papyrus gathers everyone’s dishes before going back to clean up the kitchen a bit. You quickly offer to help, but are once again told that as the guest, you will actually be doing no such thing, leaving you stuck in the company of Sans. Although they both seem comfortable enough with you here, you can’t help but feel out of place. Sans is still being weird and moody whenever it’s just you and him alone together, and Papyrus is being so accommodating you don’t really know what to say _(One can only say “Thank you” so much in one evening)_.

You and Sans sit in silence, waiting for Papyrus to come back or something to happen or just something. It feels like the most awkward thing you’ve ever encountered, but when you sneak a glance at Sans, he still seems totally relaxed. Plus, Chara is off god-knows-where doing god-knows-what. Maybe napping. It seems like something they would do to pass the empty times.

“so.” You nearly jump out of your skin at the sudden noise. “have you decided if you would rather spend the night here than in the inn?”

“Uhh.” This was way more confrontational than you thought it would be. “Yeah, sure, I guess.”

You didn’t say that, but it sounded like you did. That was your voice, wasn’t it? Maybe you _did_ say that.

_That was me, relax._ Chara whispers into your ear and you have to fight the urge to swat them away.  _You were taking too long. Besides, this is what we agreed on right?_

_How did you do that._ It’s not a question, it’s a demand.

_Impressions? It’s pretty easy to imitate a voice that used to be yo_ \- “ _patella_ me kiddo, was that that hard?” Sans gives you an easy grin, like that was all he was waiting for, and cuts Chara off mid statement.

 _No Sans, it wasn’t hard,_ you want to tell him, _because I wasn’t the one to do it! Nope, my ghost buddy did it! Real nice of them, huh?_ But you don’t say that. You just smile back at Sans and pretend you are comfortable with the current situation in any way shape or form.

It’s actually pretty hard, you’re that angry.

Thankfully for you, this is the moment Papyrus returns to the room and the conversation. “Brother! Did You Just Offer Our Home To The Human?” There is an excited twinkle in his eye - one you are not sure that you’ll like.

“yeah bro. it’s better to be around friends, right?” You look at Sans, trying to understand what he is playing at. All you can make out with comfortable certainty is that he’s trying to convince Papyrus that letting you stay the night is a good idea. From the sheer volume that comes from Pap next, you can tell that it didn’t take much to persuade him.

“OF COURSE! A SLEEPOVER BETWEEN NEW FRIENDS IS THE BEST WAY TO CEMENT A FRIENDSHIP! I HAVE TO GET SNACKS AND MOVIES! THIS WILL BE THE BEST NEW-BESTFRIEND-SLEEPOVER YOU HAVE EVER HAD, HUMAN!”

Papyrus then proceeds to sprint towards the window. At the last moment, you see a flash of blue around the handle, pulling the window open. You have no doubt that going through the glass would not have slowed Paps down at all.

“well, now that is out of the way, where would you prefer to sleep?” There is no trace of the previous suspicion in his face or voice. Had he really been doubting you over a stupid sleeping arrangement?

You shake your head, this isn’t something you would decide. “Wherever it is the most convenient place for me to sleep. I’m the one imposing here.”

“the couch it is then.”

Nodding, you get up and go around to the back of the couch to your bag. When you look over the cushions to see Sans, he isn’t there. That’s only a little weird, you suppose. At least it gives you a moment to properly express your anger towards C. You grab your bag and return to your seat.

_You and I need to have a talk, kid._

_ I was born first, so I’m older. You shouldn’t be calling me “Kid”. _ They already seem to know where this is going.

 _Only in theory_ kid. _Now, earlier? That was not okay._

_I only did what needed to be done! You should be grateful for all the help I’ve been._

You scowl at the empty air - it was still too risky for them to appear. _Yes, you’re right, you’ve been very helpful, and for that I am thankful. But pretending to be me is_ not _helping. Besides, what if Sans had noticed that_ I _didn’t say that? You claim to want to stay hidden, and yet doing stuff like this makes you more likely to get caught._ They huff in distaste, but don't retort.

“here ya go, some stuff to keep you warm.” Sans appears in front of you with an armful of different blankets and drops them into your lap. “pap should be back soon, but he won’t keep you up long. he’s got a pretty strict bedtime that even movie night won’t change.”

“Are you the one who decides his bedtime?” You ask with a raised brow.

He gives you the tiniest of laughs while retaking his seat on the other side of the couch. “who me? nah. pap knows his limits better than anybody, he knows when he needs to head to bed.”

“Man, I wish I was that wise. Overly late nights are a common thing with me.” Getting the proper amount of sleep, _and_ having it not be an accident would be amazing. “Does he normally do that though? Jump through the window, I mean.”

Sans sighs like a resigned parental unit. “yeah. if it wasn’t so cold here, i’d just leave ‘em open all the time. it’s usually _snow_ problem, but i guess meeting someone new had him jumping through the walls.” He chuckles for a moment with you before reaching forward to grab a television remote.

 

_This guy seems so much different than before? Like someone flipped a switch and all of a sudden he’s acting like a different person. Or a different version at least. I guess he was just that sincere about wanting to make sure I wasn’t a threat._

 

You decide that, since you aren’t a threat, you are going to ease up on Sans a little. Not that you have been outwardly cold, no no. This is more of a “I’m not going to over analyze everything you do in case you become a threat” sort of thing. As long as you weren’t a danger, he wouldn’t be one either.

Before he gets a chance to turn it on however, you stand and excuse yourself to the kitchen. You still had yet to call Toriel back, and it was getting late. If you didn’t do it now, you might forget to do it at all. You pull out the flip phone and quickly pull up her contact. After a long moment to steady yourself _(this never gets easier)_ , you press the call button.

It rings for a moment and then you can hear her quiet voice through the phone. _“Hello? Is anyone there?”_

“Hey, Tori! It’s me!” You grin.

_“Oh! hello there my child, are you alright? Is Snowdin treating you well?”_

“Mhm! I’m doing fine Mama, and the town is lovely. Super chilly though, and a lot bigger than I expected.”You lean against the counter and pick carelessly at a loose thread on your clothing.

 _“Did you get lost, young one?”_ She says it with a laugh, but you can hear a twinge of worry in her voice.

“Eheh, of course! It all ended fine though, plus, I got to meet some very cool people.” The dog guards had been your favorite. You had come across a few (not counting the married ones that freaked you out) of them during their lunch breaks and stopped to chat with them. They seemed to be the only monsters that noticed your presence without you having to initiate the conversation, but that’s alright. You liked both dogs and dog monsters.

 _“Of of course!”_ You can almost see the smile she’s talking with _“Be sure to rest up completely before going any further, alright? Do stay safe Child!”_

Not even a complete second passes before she hangs up. You stay there for a few more minutes, just staring at the phone in your hands before going back to Sans in the living room. “Washroom?”

“upstairs. straight down the hall.” As you walk past, you take a quick peak in Papyrus’ room (the stickers plastered all over the door clearly marked it as his). He did leave the door open after all, it’s not like he was hiding anything. Nor should he, you think as you see the racecar bed. You stand there for a moment, considering all the wonderful possibilities that you would have if you had such a magnificent bed, before remembering why you were upstairs in the first place. For a moment you consider doing the same with Sans’ room, but then again he can very clearly see you from his spot on the couch and his door is closed. The moment passes very quickly.

“call go well?” He doesn’t turn from the now on television to ask once you return. You make a tiny noise of affirmation before sitting down again. For being Underground, they sure have some high tech stuff, you think as you try to figure out what he’s watching on the fairly large flatscreen tv. It looks like some sort of robot?

“So what are you watching?”

“garbage, if i’m being honest. unfortunately, there isn’t much to watch when you’re stuck under a mountain.” You turn to the side and look at him. Sans doesn’t seem to be saying in a spiteful way, but it reminds you that you’re only here to get the monsters out. The day’s mood had been picking up, but this really puts a damper everything. You had almost settled back in, like you were supposed to have some lasting personal affect on the Monsters you met.

In reality, though, you were a tool. Tools serve their purpose, and then they aren’t needed anymore. You should really hurry up and serve your purpose.

“No but seriously, what is this show even supposed to be?” The robot was singing. You have never been so confused.

Sans turns to you and shrugs before the two of you share a laugh. Although neither of you really spreads out from your respective sides of the couch, the two of you do seem to act a little more friendly towards each other. Neither of you notice that Papyrus still hasn’t come back until you are beginning to feel your eyelids drooping and Sans starts to repeat puns. The last thing you can remember clearly in the morning is telling him that if he doesn’t start using new material, you’d tell Papyrus about just how many puns he had been telling while Paps was gone.

 

“perhaps it would be best to let them sleep? they do _bone_ tired.”

“Sans, would you please, very kindly, Stop Talking? I do not want to wake the human by giving you a proper reprimanding.”

“whatever keeps you happy, bro.”

“Besides, we can make it up to them with a delicious breakfast tomorrow!”

It is too loud! You pull the blankets tighter around you and let the sweet embrace of sleep hold you again.

* * *

_It’s alright, they tell us._

_We don’t have to come back right away._

_They understand that we have a job to do._

_They just wish that we had said goodbye._

_We said goodbye right?_

_They’re wrong, we said goodbye right?_

_No, no. We didn’t._

_That was our promise._

_You only say goodbye when it’s the end._

_We didn’t say goodbye._

_But,_

_…_

_But._

_They say that they forgive us._

_But we don’t forgive us._

* * *

You wake to food being shoved in your face.

“Oh, Human! You Are Finally Awake! I Am Glad The Weird Trick Worked!”

There is … spaghetti? being held above your face. It’s totally blocking your view of anything else.

“Why.” You go to rub some of the sleep out of your eyes and accidentally touch the spaghetti.

It’s slimy. Ew.

“Why is there spaghetti on my face.”

The spaghetti backs up and you can see both Sans and Papyrus looking down at you. “pap said that he heard of a trick to wake humans up.”

“Yes, Human-Friend! I Read In A Book That The Smell Of Food Can Wake Humans Up!” They both grin at you like they have something planned.

“Where did you read that?” You are immediately suspicious.

“That Is Not Important, Human-friend.” He moves back and waves the spaghetti hand dismissively and you have to wiggle to keep it from touching you. Sans, on the other hand, looks super amused at the early morning antics. “What Is Important Is That We Have Cooked Breakfast For You!”

You're still lying on your back on the couch, with Sans leaning over you from the front and Papyrus is leaning over the back. You wonder if they picked each side deliberately, based on height. Then the spaghetti swings back near your face _(ew)_ and you push yourself up, carefully avoiding it. “You guys cooked breakfast? For me? Why?”

Sans shrugs at you, “repaying the _flavour_ \- you bought for me yesterday -”

“And This Is The Closest A Lazy Guy Like Him Can Get!” Papyrus cuts in with a pointed pun-related glare. “But, I Was Happy To Help A New Friend!”

_They made pancakes with cinnamon. Yum._

_They?_ You whisper as you stretch. It did sound good.

_Yeah, they. Sans helped a little, much to my everlasting surprise._

 

_Aww! He was being honest about wanting to repay me!_

 

You flash the brothers the most sincere smile you possibly can. Yesterday’s feelings of suspicion are gone - today is a new day. Their kindness fills you with determination.

Your progress has been **saved**. _Enjoy your breakfast, Frisky._

_Thanks, C._

Besides, a home cooked breakfast is all that's needed to buy your loyalty this early in the morning. “Would you guys happen to have any tea?”

* * *

 

Sure, Chara had told about the pancakes, but they hadn’t mentioned how many there was. The moment you had walked into the kitchen you were bombarded with stacks upon stacks of pancakes. Like an absurd amount of iHop sized pancakes. You’re honestly a little impressed that they managed all this while staying quiet enough for you to stay asleep.

“How long have you been working on this?” You ask while testing the structural integrity of one particularly large pile.

Sans hops up onto the counter beside it. “since about five in the morning? at least, that's when he woke me up to help.”

Papyrus gives you the biggest, most heartfelt grin, you feel a little terrible having to break it to him. “Are you sure the three of us can actually eat all of this, though? It’s a lot of pancakes…”

_You mean he woke me up at FIVE in the morning to make all these goddamned pancakes, and you aren’t even going to eat them?_

You can practically feel your heart breaking as Papyrus’ face falls. “Not that that’s a bad thing! Just the opposite in fact! You’ll have plenty of leftovers to share or eat later! Cooking in large batches is actually very smart in the long run, buying in bulk is much cheaper which means that even when market prices fluc -” Sans gives you a very gentle poke to relieve you from your rambling thoughts, and you see that Papyrus is back to his happy normal. That was a close save.

_Were you actually asleep?_

_Well, no. I was trying to figure out something to do to prank Sans._

_So why are you upset?_

_Fuck off, I've been awake for literal years. Leave me be, Frisky._

Once someone points to where all the needed essentials are, you and the brothers head to the living room to sit down for a lovely breakfast. The meal passed in comfortable silence, and in fact, the three of you did make a sizable dent in the absurd amount of pancakes. They were quite good in fact. You don’t really know why, but you had been expecting him to have done something weird like make spaghetti inside the pancakes. No such thing however, they were just good food.

“Oh!!! Sans! I Remembered What It Is I Needed To Tell You About Undyne!” Papyrus pipes up once you are all cleaning (You and Papyrus are cleaning, Sans is just sitting there). Papyrus sets down the plate he had been drying and stands in front of his brother.

“and?” You had honestly been wondering if Sans had fallen asleep, but apparently not.

“I Am Going Over To Undyne’s House Today To Spar!” Papyrus looks like he has stars in his eyes, he's that excited. The name Undyne makes you a little nervous, though, you get the feeling you need to start running. “She Should Be Coming By To Pick Me Up In A Little While.”

Sans sits up ramrod straight. This doesn’t do anything to quell your uneasiness. “when?”

There is a loud bang and you can feel the house vibrate. “Ah! Right Now! IN THE KITCHEN, UNDYNE!” The second half gets yelled to someone that isn't you or Sans.

A tall, blue, and honestly very pretty woman comes striding in, obviously the person Papyrus had been yelling too. The leather jacket and high ponytail of bright red hair seem almost familiar. For some reason, the thought of anime girls with big swords crosses your mind. She’s holding the front door in her hands like someone holds a book or something that they picked up on the ground to bring to you. Did she really break the door down? You are terrified and impressed. Mostly terrified though.

“Papyrus, Buddy! What is all of this? You made food but didn’t invite me?” She walks over to him, completely ignoring both you and Sans leaning up against the counter.

“Sorry, Undyne. This Was A Very Special Breakfast For My New Friend!” He moves past her and gently takes your hand, pulling you into the middle of the kitchen. You give Sans a pleading look as he pulls you, but Sans still looks stunned - although it’s hard to tell on a literal bone-white skull, you’d probably say that the colour drained from his face. “Look! They Are A Very Kind Person Who Bought Lunch For Sans Yesterday, And Also Happens To Be A Human. We Did All This To Repay The Favour.”

You do your best to give a welcome smile to the intimidating woman, Undyne. “Uh, hello.”

She narrows her eye at you (you wonder a little about the eyepatch, but she’s far too intimidating for you to ask). “Papyrus?”

You try to take a step back, but Papyrus is blocking the way. The urge to run has increased tenfold. _Chara what do I do?_

 _Frisk, Run. _ Wow! That's exactly what you had been planning on doing, at least the two of you agree on the best course of action. Too bad that that is blocked right now.

“Papyrus, did you say ” She leans further into you, and bears her teeth. They are pointy. “Human?”

Papyrus lets go of you to do some convoluted hand gestures or something, you aren’t sure. All you do know is that it is _Time To Go._ You sprint out of the kitchen and a glowing spear embeds itself in the wall just behind you. The cold from outside is blowing into the rest of the house and you are shivering long before getting to the front door. _No, don’t stop to look at, just run. Run._ You don’t slow to pull on shoes or grab a jacket, you just keep going. As you exit the house, you notice that she did, in fact, knock the door in.

The wetness of the ground shocks you for a moment, but it doesn’t slow you down. Instead, you speed up a bit. The snow is squishy and slippery under your feet and you’re already losing feeling in your hands, but you don’t slow down. Behind you, you can hear both Papyrus and Undyne yelling for you to slow down, but only one of them means well. You don’t slow.

You aren’t really sure where you’re going, but you keep going. You trip over your own feet and while pushing yourself up, you notice that you are nearing the exit from Snowdin to get to Waterfall. Being in another area of the Underground doesn't seem like a very good idea right now, but anywhere that is not here is pretty appealing. You keep running.

You’re almost out of Snowdin, just passing the last of the trees when a person grabs your wrist and pulls you into the trees.

“stay quiet.” Sans puts a boney finger against your lips to keep you quiet. “that _really_ wasn’t supposed to happen. just stay quiet alright? i’ll think of something.” You nod. That's all you really can do. The cold finally hits you full force and you almost fall on top of him shaking.

“What the hell happened?” You don’t understand jack shit. Why did Undyne make you feel so unsafe, what was with the glowing spear?

 

_Was that her magic? I’d be pretty impressed if it didn't scare the daylights out of me._

 

You finally look at his face and see that his pupils are gone again. You would jump back if it wasn’t for the fact he’s the only thing keeping you standing. He’s back to being scary, but…

“just, _chill_ ok?” A nervous chuckle. “i’ll keep you safe.” A strained grin. That’s all you need to know to trust him, that this, all this right now, is scaring him too. You wonder if he’s more scared of Undyne’s sudden appearance, or what it means if you die. Neither seems all that plausible, but … You sneak another look at those pitch black eye sockets.

Over your shaking breaths and quivering teeth, you can hear Undyne call out to Papyrus. “You’re friends with the human? Why? You know we only need one more human soul to get out, right?”

“BUT UNDYNE, THEY ARE MY FRIEND. I DO NOT WISH TO LOSE THEM LIKE THAT.” He’s loud enough that you can hear him clear as day. It’s honestly a little impressive.

“PAPYRUS. Wouldn’t a REAL friend want to help us get out of here?”

“BUT -”

“NO BUTS. Papyrus if they were really your friend, they’d do whatever it takes to get you out of this cave-hell. Instead, what has the human done? Eat pancakes and get lost? What fucking help is that?” Both you and Sans cringe, you really hadn’t done anything useful, had you?

“UNDYNE. Do You Really Need To Be So Harsh? They Have Not Been Here For More Than A Few Days.” He sounds sad. Nobody has anything to say to that.

_Undyne is coming around the corner. You guys_ need _to move._

Now you’ve got two people looking out for you. That’s good, right? But, would it really mean anything in the long run? Undyne’s shouted words are still ringing in your head. You had been here what, almost a week? What had you accomplished? Nothing. In the adrenaline filled rush that is your brain, you can’t remember what they need a human soul for, but if they only needed one more, maybe it would be better if you just gave yours up.

A spear comes whizzing past your head, breaking your train of thought and just barely misses Sans. You both stare at it for a moment. You really _really_ want to run.

There is another whizzing noise but this time, you don’t see it. But you feel warmer, all of a sudden? Sans’ face gets darker. How is it possible for his face, which is already dark, to get darker? He isn’t looking at you, though, he's looking down. You look down, another one of those glowing spears is poking through your chest. It looks painful?

You watch some vibrant red blood come sputtering out before it begins to hit you, that’s _your_ blood. Sticky. You drop to your knees as the warm feeling becomes burning.

“AH! Found you!” You can hear Undyne behind you, but you don’t move your eyes from Sans face. Sure he scared you before, but there are tears there. The sticky, gross pain is almost enough to knock you all the way down now. You can’t see where he’s looking, the whole lack of pupils thing is still happening, but you keep your eyes on him, whispering “I’m sorry” until the pain becomes too much and darkness takes you.

* * *

This time you wake to black flowers falling on your head. _It wasn’t your fault C. None of us expected that._

They don’t say anything but at least lean back out of your face. Your floating companion’s mood ring of a flower crown is very helpful, you think. No matter how much they might not want to tell you that they are upset, you'd still be able to tell. The noises being carried from the kitchen alert you to Papyrus already being awake.

_Besides, I’m the one that didn’t run when I should have, right?_

_Yeah._ You give a small smile, and they do their best to mirror it.  _You really should have ran._

You shrug while lying on the couch. _I was tired._ A yawn pulls itself from your lips. _Hey, C, why didn’t I go back to when the boys woke me up?_

_Technically, you saved in your sleep. I just didn't get a chance to tell you until then._ That’s weird.

 _That’s weird. So what time is it now then?_ Another yawn escapes you. _Actually you know what, I don’t care. I don’t need to know that, what I need to do is go back to sleep._

_What?_ You stand up from the couch and wrap your blanket around you and grabbing your pillow, taking care to not alert Papyrus that you’ve awoken. Chara floats behind you as you walk towards the stairs, but disappears once you start to mount them.  _Seriously, what are you doing?_

With a third yawn, you finish climbing the stairs and head towards Sans’ door. There is a plan forming. You knock twice on the door. From the other side, you hear someone mutter something and then the door opens. Sans hasn’t moved from the bed but is watching you at enter with hard eyes. After the last run, he had acted like he remembered part of it, but in a quiet thought, you’re seriously questioning the legitimacy of that now.

You don’t pay him or anything else a second glance and begin to spread your blanket on the floor. From the bed, you can hear Sans’ noises of confusion but you don’t slow down in the slightest. All that running and dying had you wiped out.

“Papyrus has company coming over and I’m too tired to deal with that noise.” You put the pillow at the top and flop down onto it. “I’ll sleep like the _dead_ , just give me an hour.”

In your ear, Chara chuckles at the pun. Morbid humor and puns - at least you finally figured out what makes them tick. From the direction of the bed, you can hear Sans doing something - you’re much too tired to decode what those half-heard noises mean. You yawn and close your eyes totally, letting the gentle sound of Papyrus cooking that is being carried through the house lull you to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> anyways, this was a chapter that happened. I really hope nobody seems to ooc this chapter but?? what can ya do, i'm a tiny child that wants to get to the mushy bits with Sans.  
> Shamless tumblr plug: scary-sans.tumblr.com


	19. Spaghetti Sundays

For the third time today, you wake up to something that shouldn’t be this close to your face, being way too fucking close to your face. This time it’s a ball of paper. You squint. It’s actually multiple balls of paper? They look kind of like they are floating. In a circle. Your sleep addled mind gets a little dizzy from watching them.

“wait, hold still. lemme just move that for you.” Two boney hands invade your field of vision and move the somehow still spinning balls of paper to someplace else.

You sit up, remembering where you are and why. The perspective has changed since you had fallen asleep though, now you’re on the bed in the corner? Sans is sitting at a desk chair in the other corner, watching you. “Wait, hadn’t I fallen asleep on the floor over there? And,” your eye catches on the swirling tower of paper that is still in Sans’ hands, “what is that?”

“you were right in front of my door, ya’know, the thing i use to leave my room? plus i figured you deserved a real bed after …” He trails off and shrugs. Recalling the _incident_ isn’t high on the list of things you enjoy doing, but at least he’s confirming your suspicions. You and Chara are not the only ones who remember previous runs. Well, technically they are just events that technically didn’t happen, but everything else here is following a “videogame theme”, you’re just playing along by calling it a run. “besides, nobody _actually_ wants to sleep on the floor.”

“Well, thanks.” You’re grateful all the same. “But you still didn’t answer me. What is _that_.” You point at the thing in his hands.

“this?” Sans gives you a surprised look before turning down at the thing in his hands like he had forgotten it was there. “it’s, uh, it’s a self-sustained trash tornado.”

“A self-sustained t - No, no. That isn’t trash. Look at it!” You toss a hand out, gesturing at the paper and plastic, “it’s all recycling in there!”

Sans looks back and forth between you and the _recycling_ tornado in his hands before a tiny chuckle escapes his nonexistent lips. “huh. guess you’re right.”

Before you can say anything else, or ask to touch it like you desperately want to, a loud smash rings through the house. You go ramrod straight, and the pupils of Sans’ lose a fair amount of brightness, but nothing else happens. The two of you sit in total silence, waiting for the other foot to drop for a good few minutes. In fact, you are both there long enough that when your stomach gurgles, you both jump again.

“Uhhhm.” You laugh nervously. “Guess we missed that pancake breakfast this time, huh.”

Sans’ eyes harden for a moment, before softening again. “yeah. you’re welcome, by the way, for those.”

Now that you think about it though, you are pretty hungry. Too bad you can’t leave the room. Although… “Hey Sans? I think I might have some like snacks in my backpack, if you can grab it.”

He gives you a look. It’s a look of something like admiration. The idea of food is honestly the most appealing thing you have ever thought of before - he seems to be agreeing. Man, you were really sad about missing out on those pancakes, but you might just have something good enough to satiate you both in your bag. “sure kid. one sec.”

He gets up from his seat at the desk and holds the little vortex of paper out to you. “Hold this, will ya? Just don’t move too much. Wouldn’t want it to _fly_ apart, would we?” He winks while putting it in your outstretched hands. While you sit dumbstruck at the magic thingy in your grasp, Sans quietly opens the door, walks through, and closes it again.

You watch the small little, what had he called it? A 'self-sustained trash tornado'. Right. You watch the paper inside swirl around, for a few moments. _C?_

_Yeah, Frisky. I’m here._

You’re beginning to feel a little dizzy, but it’s just so cool you can’t tear your eyes away. _Are you alright?_

_I’m fine. Undyne and Papyrus are making a huge mess downstairs._ Their tone picks up. Chara is enjoying themself, at least.

You chuckle. _What are they doing?_

_He tried to jump through the window again, but Undyne caught him by his feet. Papyrus was being_ noble _,_ you can practically feel their air quotes, hilarious.  _Trying to keep_ you _a secret. Man, I feel kinda bad for the guy, she noogied him so hard!_

_That hard huh?_ You bounce your hand up and down a little, watching to see how it affects the miniature tornado. You wonder if that would be enough to cause motion sickness.

_Yeah._ Chara snickers for a moment. _ I think she might actually still be doing that. Undyne’s the coolest person you’ve me - SWEET JESUS FRISK! STOP PLAYING WITH THE THINGY. I don’t know how you’re managing it, but you’re making  _ me _sick with that._

You laugh at their antics but going back to sitting relatively still.

Sans, with impeccable timing, comes back into the room at this moment. You hold the whirling air out to him and he takes it after dropping your bag onto the bed beside you. He looks a little confused, you _were_ just laughing to yourself after all, but you wave him off. Sans then goes to the third corner of the room and sets down his little tornado on the floor before coming back to sit beside you on the bed. “you mentioned food?”

Laughing again, you pull your bag into your lap and begin pulling out it’s contents. You grab the notebook, spare clothes, the phones, and a pie. There are also some granola bars that look slightly squished, but you focus on the pie and its tiny box.

“I uh, I forgot this was in here?” You flip open the lid, and the smell of cinnamon and butterscotch fills the room. “It’s a magic pie I guess? When do magic pies go bad??” Sans shrugs at you.

_It’s probably still good_ ,  Chara whispers in your ear.

_How??_

_Magic? I don’t know! You’ll be fine, Frisky._

_Okay, whatever. But if I get sick, I’m blaming you._ You shrug back at Sans and say “I’ll risk it.”

Taking one of the little pre-cut slices up in your hands, you steal a tiny bite. It’s…

“This is the most delicious thing I have ever eaten. That last death must have sent me to heaven, there is no way this sort of thing exists on earth.” When you look over to Sans to offer him a piece, he looks strained. “Oh, uh, sorry. Guess I was being a little too casual about that, huh.”

That hard look, narrowed sockets, strained perma-grin, and downward browbones, is back. This isn’t the Sans you had gotten used to in the past day, this is the Sans that threatened to kick your ass if you so much as _looked_ out of line. Did this count as out of line? “you shouldn’t joke about things like that.”

 

_Please don’t let this have counted as out of line._

 

“Yeah. Joking about stuff like it doesn’t affect anyone is a real shitty coping method, huh.” You look away and take another nibble of the pie. There is a strong spike in your anxiety. “It is really good though, please don’t let me eat this all myself.”

Holding out the tray, you watch to see if he relents at all. He takes one (with his left hand, you notice) and although he takes his eyes off you, he doesn’t soften until he takes a bite. Or at least, you assume that’s how it went, you stopped watching him after he grabbed a piece. You were too busy nervously staring at your own hands. Chara keeps chuckling in your ears, obviously enjoying your uncomfortable state.

_Don’t be rude._

_Fuck you frisky! You don’t control me! Plus ...  
I think you kinda deserve this._

“okay, i misjudged you,” You both suck in a breath, although Chara’s is more excited anticipation than yours. “this pie is totally worth that joke. no _fibula_ , this is the best slice i’ve ever had.” You breathe out a sigh of relief. _This_ is the Sans that you like, an easy smile and bright eyes. Pupils. Eyes. Whatever, you’re just glad that that cheered him up a little.

As you both work through your snacks, you start to put the other items back inside the bag where they belong. You leave your personal phone out though, you’re in the mood for some music. The notebook as well stays out as well - you were planning on leaving Snowdin tomorrow so you should really be reviewing what you have for that area. It isn’t right now that you notice just how much of a mess you’ve made. All of the blankets that had been on his bed were now wrapped around you, in the normal nest formation, and the little tornado thing was now picking up things from Sans’ desk and making those airborne as well. Other than that, the room is fairly clean. You do notice a small pile of socks in the corner, which makes you think of the framed one in the main room.

“hey kid, what’s this?” Sans picks up your phone with tentative fingers.

You laugh and take it from him to turn it back on. “It’s my phone.” Once it’s turned on, you pass it back to him.

“uh,” Sans presses the wake-up button, like you had, and then tries to press the onscreen buttons. Nothing happens. “why isn’t it working?”

You watch him for a moment, he can’t even swipe the screen to open it. “Oh! Uh, most smartphones are a combination of touch and heat. Probably should've realised that sooner, sorry.” You reach to take it back, but he waves you away.

Sans looks thoughtful for a moment, and then you watch as the tip of his finger glows a little blue and he’s able to open your phone. “there we go.” You watch in shock as he flits around, trying to figure out what everything does.

“Uhm.” He keeps going, opening and closing several apps in quick succession. You reach over and take it from him. “I’ll be taking that, gotta save the battery ya know.”

Sans gives you a look for a moment, but then shrugs and moves on to the notebook. Should you be taking that from him? He knows about the **unsaved** times, but what about the other, uh, timelines? You don’t really know or understand too much, maybe he can help you work through it. Then again, how would he take to other timelines, if he doesn’t know of them? Would _this_ make you a threat in his mind? You watch him flip through it while the butterflies in your stomach go crazy.

“pretty organized. _patella_ me, kiddo, where’d you get this?”

You look away from him and shrug. “Was with me when I fell. That’s my writing in it,” Curling in on yourself, you turn completely away from Sans. “but I don’t remember anything from before I fell. I think I'm missing at least two weeks.” That anxious feeling is eating you up inside. It’s a bad time.

“huh.” Sans stops on a page you can’t see and starts reading it intently. “pretty good beginner’s guide to the underground, you got here.”

Sans passes it back to you, seemingly satisfied. “Uhh.”

“hey kid, knock knock.” He leans back away from you and you realize that you are seriously imposing on his hospitality by stay up here. Another stray thump and noises from the kitchen remind you that you can’t quite leave yet. You really wish that you could. “we’ve been through this before. i say “knock knock” and you’re supposed to say “who’s there?””

“Uhm.” Sans narrows his eyes at you, annoyed. “Who’s there?”

“note.” The happy expression is back. Just like that.

“Note who?”

“ _note_ to alarm you, but i think we might be here for a while.” He points to your notebook when you give him a confused look. Oh. You give a light chuckle, that was sorta funny once you realized the context. You do still feel bad about being in here without an invitation.

 

_I just barged in. I mean, I had a reason, but I didn’t even ask. That was super rude._

 

“How long do you think it will be?” You do your best to sound casual. Who knows how well that goes.

Sans shrugs. “i thought he was goi -”

Anything and everything is cut off with Papyrus’ extra-loud voice ringing through the home. “GOODBYE SANS! HAVE A GOOD DAY, BROTHER!” This is followed by two sets of ultra-loud laughter, and then the slamming of a door. You vaguely recall that she tore it off it’s hinges the first time.

“no time at all, apparently.” Sans shrugs again and stands up. “staying in here might not be a _bed_ time but, wanna move this to the living room?”

“Actually, do you mind if I shower first?” Now that the house is empty and you can move about as you please again, you’d like to get personal care out of the way. Besides, the phantom feeling of dried blood is back and it’s making you queasy.

“sure. towels are under the sink.” And with that, you are left to your own devices.

* * *

The shower had been nice, you think to yourself as make your way down the stairs. It had given you a chance to sort out your thoughts and plan out the next few days. You were still planning on leaving Snowdin tomorrow anyways.

 

_Sans is still a little creepy, but at least it isn’t all the time. He seems like a pretty good guy._

_Chara isn’t blaming themself right now, which is also pretty good. I think seeing Undyne and Papyrus together helped cheer them up._

 

Today would best be spent buying all the supplies you still need. Yes, that sounds like a good idea. As long as Undyne didn’t return, you’d be set. Having the rest of the day planned out makes you smile. Once you make it to the living room, you notice that Sans isn’t here. It’s empty. Sile - You are cut off by snoring coming from the kitchen. Was that, that’s impossible, there’s no way it could be Sans, right?

But … You had interrupted his sleep this morning at god knows when. “Sans?” You try to stay quiet, just in case. “Hey, you here?”

More snores are your only response. Had you really been in the shower for that long? When you round your way into the kitchen, you see Sans asleep on the counter. “Hey.” You walk over and give his shoulder a poke. “I’m going back down town and you shouldn’t sleep on the counter. Heeeeeey.”

He doesn’t move in the slightest. If it were anyone else, you might wonder if they were just pretending. “C’mon I can’t leave while you’re asleep right there.”

Honestly, who falls asleep on the counter anyways? What if he rolls off and hurts himself? You try to think of something that might wake him.

“Hey, Sans, hey. Knock knock.” You move to the side a little and rap your knuckles against one of the overhead cupboards for emphasis.

This seems to do the trick, however. Sans turns to you with bleary sockets and practically croaks to you. “what?”

You sigh at him to hide how pleased you were at finding the proper thing to wake him up. “We’ve been over this before, Sans. I say “Knock Knock” and you say “Who’s there?” Is it that hard?”

Sans gives you a look before complying. “who’s there?”

“Old lady.”

“old lady who?”

“Wow, Sans! I didn’t know you could yodel!”

Sans goes from half awake to half awake and confused. “what’s a “yodel” and what does it have to do with an old lady?”

“Uhm.” You hadn’t been expecting that. “Ok, different joke then. What’s the difference between a fish, a piano, and glue?”

“i dunno, what?”

“You can tune a piano, but you can’t _tuna_ fish!”

He gives a tiny laugh, but cuts himself off. “wait, what about the glue?”

“I knew you’d get _stuck_ on that!” You’re grinning as you say the final punch line, you love this joke.

Sans gives you a blank stare for just a moment before throwing a hand over his face and giving the biggest laugh you’ve heard from him yet. You can’t help but join him, this was the best reaction you've gotten to a joke in quite a while.

_He sounds happy._

_I know._ You decide that if you can, you want him to always sound like that.

Chara doesn’t seem satisfied by that.  _So are we going to leave or what? Why the jokes anyways?_

“Okay, now that you’re awake, could you please move someplace else to nap?” You didn’t do it consciously, but your hands end up on your hips. “I’m heading out to pick up the last things I need and I’d hate to come back to a broken skeleton all over the kitchen floor.”

Sans pushes himself into a sitting position, but doesn’t get off the counter. “are you sure you want to do that, kiddo? what if undyne and paps come back and find you while you’re out there?”

You hadn’t thought of that.

“I hadn’t thought of that.” But if you don’t go today, then you’d be stuck buying the last of your supplies on the day you head out to Waterfall. “I could always just risk it, I guess. It isn’t like I’m going to let something like a scary fish lady stop me from doing my job down here.”

He shrugs and jumps down from the counter, “alright, whatever. it’s your head on the line here. want me to come with?”

_Please say no,_ Chara begs you. You think about it for a moment, you _could_ always use the extra help, even with them guiding you.

“Eh, sure. You can tell me a little bit more about Waterfall as we go.”

_Ugh, typical._

* * *

It turns out, risking it was not such a good idea. This time you wake up on the couch groaning and clutching the side Undyne tossed a spear through. “Today, we’re staying home C.”

Once you manage to get yourself upright, they fade into existence beside you on the couch. You watch them nervously tear petals from a flower in their hands for at least a good thirty seconds before clearing your throat. They give an anxious chuckle before speaking. “I think… We should work on your defense there Frisky B. You could really use the training, you’re so slow.”

“Let’s just make it through today first, yeah? You can “train” me or whatever once we get to Waterfall.” You try to give them your brightest smile. As much as Chara might be annoying and sometimes pretty unhelpful, everyone needs the reminder of how useful they are sometimes. “Do you think Sans will let me sleep in his room again?”

“I mean,” Chara pauses to listen to Papyrus who is, yet again, cooking something that smells delicious, “it’s not like he can say no. Unless he wants to go through _another_ load.”

“That’s certainly seeing the brighter side of things.”

“Hey, I like seeing the bone-bag suffer just as much as the next demon-kid but, well, your death count is getting a little too high for comfort and we’ve barely done anything.” They shrug before passing you your bag. You watch them struggle for a moment to become solid enough to properly carry it, then take it from them with a laugh.

 

_They’re right, though, we’ve barely done anything. Barely gone anywhere…_

 

A tiny little Undyne from somewhere in the back of your mind starts yelling that if you were really supposed to be here to help, you’d have done something substantial by now. You do your best laugh it off, giving C a fake smile that you hope can convince them. Although you can’t see their eyes, you’re sure that Chara saw through you and is glaring now. At least, that’s what the rest of their body positioning makes it look like. You sigh and grab the notebook from your bag. Taking out a pencil from a side pocket, you flip to a random page and make three tally marks.

“What are those?” Chara, having apparently given up sitting on the couch, is floating in front of you.

You look back down at the page. “I don’t want to forget all the different attempts I’ve made.” In all honesty, you don’t want to forget all your failures, but it isn’t like you can just say it like that, now can you?

Their mouth scrunches up under that obnoxious flower wreath. “Don’t count the bridge then, you dummy. That was just an accident!”

Before you can reach out to erase the first mark, an idea hits you. “How about I just mark the accidents in a different colour? That way we don’t lose track of them either, but we can still tell the difference?” You paw through the side pocket of your bag again until you grab a pen and go over the first tally with it. “There, better?”

Chara wiggles their hand noncommittally. It’s the best you're going to get. With that, you put your notebook back into your backpack and grab your blanket before heading up to Sans’ room.

He opens the door before you even get a chance to knock, looking like he was just about to come out. “Uh.” You hold your bag out to him. “At least we get to enjoy that pie again, yeah?”

Even though he’s grinning _(when is he not though?)_ , you get the feeling that Sans is being ultra critical of you again. You can’t really blame him, who knows what it is really like to just get _reset_ like that, with no warning. This time you take his desk seat instead of the bed (or floor) and dig right to the bottom. You pass him a piece first, before taking a small one for yourself. There is the squeak of a mattress from across the room, you can hear Sans making himself comfortable again. You hesitate for a moment before eating.

“I-I’m sorry,” You whisper, “that was really s-stupid of me.”

_You never apologized to me! What the fuck Fri_ \- 

“what?” He sounds mad and confused. _(Is there a good word for mad and confused? I don’t think frustrated is what I’m looking for here.)_ You keep your eyes on your hands. They are shaking.

“Even though you don’t know me, I doubt it’s very pleasant watching someone die again and again. Especially when it sets back everything _you’ve_ done that day.”

Only silence responds to you.

 

_Did I say the wrong thing?_

 

From somewhere, you manage to muster up the courage to look Sans in the face. He looks … the exact same as normal. Well, mostly, you can almost see a bead of sweat on the side of his head. “thanks.”

You’re about to take a bite of your own food, embarrassed by the display when you can hear him mutter under his breath “it’s a lot worse that you realize.” That is just about as foreboding as you’ve come to expect from people like him, so you do your best to just put it out of your mind. Besides, you've got some super delicious pie to eat.

The pie goes quickly enough and the pair of you soon realize that it’s still hours before Undyne is supposed to arrive. Hours more till she’s supposed to leave. “What now?”He shrugs at you before flopping backwards on his bed so he’s lying down again.

“we can always nap,” Sans says.

“I guess,” you say back, removing the blanket from your shoulders to wrap it around yourself more comfortably.

“kid, we can _always_ nap,” Sans says, obviously rapidly falling asleep.

“Sure, whatever, I guess,” you say back, obviously also falling back asleep.

The last thing you hear is Chara in your ear,  _Wait … If what I think is happening, it better not be!!_

* * *

You wake sitting upright. That’s … uncomfortable, and you roll over to readjust but - “OW SHIT” - run out of chair to roll over on, ending up on the floor. Instinctively, you shoot a hand up to check for damages to your head. For a moment you aren’t sure if it was the sudden fall or the sound of your voice that startled you more. Your hand’s path is stopped by an even moreso terrifying noise from somewhere else in the house.

“HEY PAPYRUS! What was that? Is Sans really awake this EARLY?” You freeze.

_I think you might have just fucked yourself over._

“I Think He May Have Rolled Out Of Bed. I Will Go Check On Him, You Can Finish Preparing The Food To Take With Us, Undyne!”

_Or maybe not?_

_Don’t get your hopes up, kid. _ Chara doesn’t seem to have much faith in Papyrus’ ability to keep Undyne under control. As much as you dislike doubting him, from what you’ve seen so far of Undyne’s personality, you don’t really blame them. She so far appears to be one to do what she wants, whenever she wants.

Sans is still snoring lightly on the bed, looking seemingly totally at ease. You are very jealous. True to his word, you hear the light thump of footsteps coming up the stairs and then the soft creak of the bedroom door opening.

“Human? So this is where you went?” Papyrus is even quieter, almost succeeding in a normal-volumed whisper. It is strange coming from his mouth. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah Paps,” You whisper back. “Just a little knock on the head. I’m fine, though.”

He is still leaning around the door, neither in or out of Sans’ room. “I think, that you may want to remain in here today Human. As dirty as it is.” Papyrus casts a disdainful glance around the slight mess. “Keep in mind that it used to be much worse. Anyway, Undyne and I may be all over the Underground today. For your safety, I would think it best you remain here.”

You want to protest, you can take care of yourself. Time shenanigans may be a big part of it, but you can do it - bad track record be damned. Any response dies in your throat however, the look on Papyrus’ face is pained, like he can remember a reason to be worried. Perhaps you should ask him about it later? Maybe you should ask Sans first? He _is_ pretty protective of his brother, this might count as crossing a line somewhere.

“eh don’t worry ‘bout it, bro. i’ll keep em safe, no bones about it.” Sans was still lying back and had only tossed up a hand to indicate his awareness.

You can appreciate that laziness.

Papyrus looks like he wants to complain about the pun, but throws a quick look behind him. In the background, you can hear another set of feet starting up the stairs. “I am sure you will do your best Sans! I will be seeing you later!” With that, he slams the door and goes tumbling down the stairs with Undyne in hand.

At least, from the thump and cries that followed his exit, that is what you assume. Sans’ hand falls down with a clack of bone on bone, muffled giggles still coming from between his fingers. “classic paps.”

You listen to Sans’ quiet laughter and the overly energetic machinations of Papyrus trying to get Undyne to leave. Even though she scares the piss out of you, you have to agree with some of her intentions. You’d do anything to protect friends like these as well.

_Ugh, I don’t think we’re going to be able to get rid of the smiley Trashbag today._

_I guess not._ You shrug a little to yourself, still on the floor. “You know you just offered to be stuck with me, all day, right?”

“you got a problem with that? got some sort of a _bone_ to pick with me?” His voice is still muffled through his hands.

You jump up from the floor, wringing your hands. “No, no! That isn’t what I meant!” Having an _(ugh)_ bone to pick would make you a _threat_. “I just, I - wait. You used “bone” as a pun, twice in the span of a minute.”

Sans moves his hand from his face and cracks open an eye to look at you. “everybody’s a critic.” He sighs before continuing. “are you gonna finish that statement, though?”

“Uhm. I-I just don’t think someone would be so … willing, I guess, to spend the day looking after some random human.”

_He could still think you’re a threat._ You almost feel Chara put a hand on your shoulder. They sound bored, but the action implies sympathy.

You toss a hand out behind you to make sure the chair is properly behind you before taking a seat. _Do you think so? I don’t know C, I guess I hoped he trusted us a little more than that._

_Man, Frisky, if you knew all that I knew, you wouldn’t want to trust yourself either._ The scent of flowers accosted your nose. You’re pretty sure that you are glad you don’t know what they know.

When you’ve settled back into your seat, you look up to see Sans watching you.

It’s unnerving.

“you aren’t as bad as you think, kiddo.” That … that hadn’t been what you were expecting him to say. What had you been expecting, though, really. You had only known him for, what two - three days?

 

_Wait how does time shenanigans work? Do those days no longer count? Exist? Am I really a few hours older than I really should be?_

 

“uhh, kid?” Sans is still watching you, in that weird, serious way. Like he’s looking right through you.

“Sorry, sorry. I got distracted.” You offer a small smile. As much as he may be a little strange at times, you _are_ stuck with him for the day, so why not make the most of it? “So what’s the plan for today, bone boy?”

* * *

The plan had actually been nothing. Literally nothing. You both waited until Papyrus and Undyne left, then exited his room. Well more, he subtly tried to kick you out and you just used that as an excuse to retake that shower that no longer existed.

It was just as nice the second time around. In fact, it might have even been nicer. But since the first one no longer existed, you technically didn’t have anything to compare it too. Aren’t timeline shenanigans fun?

After that, you sat down to watch (and die of secondhand embarrassment because of) more of Mettaton’s movies. He had never told you that was the robot’s name, no, you didn’t realize that until you sat back to watch the end credits of the first one. Every single name but one was “Mettaton.” The last said “Dr. Alphys” under the title of “Body Repairs.” You have no idea why a one person romantic musical would need something as strange as “Body Repairs” but you accept it. It’s just about as normal as anything else you’ve seen this far.

At some point, Sans left and came back with food, from Grillby’s of course. You get the feel that when Papyrus isn’t around to cook, he eats nothing but this unhealthy junk. “Did you get me fries?” You had asked. For some reason, you felt like you had done this before.

“of course.” He responded.

“ _Fry_ thank you.” You _definitely_ felt like you had done this before. It was a weird feeling.

“you’ve used that one before.”

“Everybody’s a critic,” you say, laughing. It felt good to use his own statements against him, even it was tainted by the deja-vu of someone who had somehow managed to forget two weeks of their life. For a moment, you wonder how you had gotten over that so quickly. Maybe it had had something to do with how at home you felt with Toriel?

You were still dealing with that weird feeling right now, as you looked up from your container of now cold food to see a sleeping Sans hunched over himself on the couch. Sighing, you take the food from his lap and put it on the counter in the kitchen. Papyrus still hasn’t returned, so you can’t leave the house (not that you can really do that in the first place) to go do anything. In reality though, you don’t mind too much. Today was surprisingly nice, quiet. You absent-mindedly clean the kitchen a little. This too, feels familair.

_Cha - C?_

_Mmmm yeah, what’s up Frisky?_ They sound distracted.

 _I was wonderi - hold up. What are you doing?_ They haven’t bothered you at all today, which is _weird_. You aren’t worried, per say, but…

They giggle.  _Moving all the things in the Trashbag’s room four inches to the left._

_Why?_

_I’m bored._ It takes a moment, but they appear in front of you in the kitchen.  _Besides, it’s just a_ joke _, Frisky._

_Isn’t it hard to move things though?_ You remember all the times they’ve tried to interact with physical objects more often than not, it leaves them looking drained.

Chara giggles at you again, pulling out a flower to play with.  _It’ll be worth it._ They pause and look behind them back into the living room.  _Looks like the Trashbag is awake. Guess I’ll be taking my leave now._

As they fade back out, you can hear Sans’ heavy footsteps getting closer. Huh. You wonder for a moment on how they had heard it before you, but decide it’s probably magic. But if it’s magic then maybe Sans heard the conversation? No, that’d, that’d be impossible right? You’ve got to do something though, just in case.

“Hey Sans,” you start as he enters your field of view. “What do you call a pile of kittens?”

He blinks a half focused eye at you. “what?”

“A _meow_ tain!”

It takes him a moment to wake up enough to recognize the joke, but then he bursts into heartfelt laughter.

“Sans, Sans, wait I have another one.” You’re laughing too, though more restrained. This _was_ a coverup, after all. “What do you call a dog with a fever?”

He wipes a tear from his eye. “w-what?”

“A _hot_ dog!” This is the most fun you’ve had in a long time, surprisingly.

Sans is beginning to have trouble staying upright. It’s one of the most satisfying sights you can remember. “wait, wait, i have one.”

“Okay, let me hear it!” You’re a little excited to hear what it is.

Sans takes a few moments to catch his breath first “what do you call a lamb that’s covered in chocolate?”

“I have no clue, my guy.”

He’s so worked up his cheeks are turning a little blue. It’s admittedly slightly adorable. “a candy _baa_.”

That was, oh dear lord, that was the cutest thing you’ve ever seen. You laugh, in a way that is honestly a bit harder than warranted. _(It’s really funny, okay? I had never expected this to be so amusing.)_ “What do you call a dog crossed with a calculator?”

“i have no clue,” he has to stop and catch his breath, “but it’s got something to do with mettaton, right?”

“No!” You sputter. “It’s a friend you can count on!”

This is the final blow to the both of you. You both end up on the floor, backs on the tile and hands across your stomachs. It’s hard to keep any shred of dignity when you’re laughing this hard. This is also how Papyrus find you when he returns home.

“Human? Brother? Are You Feeling Unwell?” Papyrus sprints into the kitchen and kneels in between you two. “Wait. Are you -”

You do your best to cover a giggle at Paps’ misplaced concern while Sans pushes himself back into an upright position.

“Have You Been Exchanging … Puns?” He jumps to his feet and glares at you. Then at Sans for a moment, and then back to you. He keeps alternating and picking up speed until you have to look away for fear of getting sick.

“Hey Paps,” you stop to snicker for a moment, trying to get it out now. “Hey, Papyrus. Paps. What do you call two young married spiders?”

The tall skeleton stops glaring at you for a moment. “What?” Oh, he seems genuinely interested! The payoff will be _huge._

You shoot a glance at Sans, and he seems to understand exactly what’s going on here. He asks the silent question, you nod in affirmation, and then you both look up to Papyrus from your places on the floor. “they’re newly _webs_ , paps!”

He nearly shrieks in frustration, but you can hear a hint of laughter in his voice. “That Was Uncalled For, Brother!!”

You and Sans burst out with belly-aching laughter. It takes a few minutes before you are even able to form a coherent thought, let alone say something. Papyrus sighs and leaves about halfway through, and only comes back when he hears you and Sans calming down.

“As Retribution For That, You Both Get To Sit And Watch Mettaton Moves With Me.”

 

_But, that’s what I did all day? Can I really handle another two hours of Mettaton? That stupid sex toaster?_

_Could I really live with myself?_

 

Sans gives you a “you better fucking do it” look between chuckles. The grin kinda ruins it, but he manages somehow. 

“Haha, sure Papyrus. How about the uhh,” You try to think of one you can probably handle. Well, hadn’t Sans hated Mettaton’s one man rendition of High School Musical? You could _probably_ handle it if you all watched _that_ one. “Uhm. Oh! I think I know just the one we can watch.”

As Papyrus excitedly pulls you up off the kitchen floor, you shoot Sans a sly smile. This is what he gets for fucking with you, you think as you see his almost horrified expression. You’ll always be the one to get the last laugh here.

* * *

It’s late by the time the final credits roll. You ended up squashed between the brothers, not that you had minded then, but now that they were both passed out you were having second thoughts. As much as you wouldn’t think of Sans as one to sprawl out, the dude can really take up a lot of space when he wants. Not like you have much room to talk however, he’s only a few inches shorter than you and you do this all the time at home.

Anyways, it doesn’t look like you will be escaping the tangle of bones anytime soon. You reach over, behind Papyrus’ slumped form, to grab the closest phone so you can check the time. The one your hand wraps around isn’t yours, though, it isn’t either of them. It’s the same model as the one Toriel gave you, though, so it isn’t like anyone can blame you for flipping it open accidentally.

They could, however, blame you for seeing that there was one unread message. That you then went and opened. The mysterious and metaphorical “they” could definitely blame you for doing this. You kinda flit through the message, it was just a “well wishes” for the evening, but you do notice the sender.

It’s listed as Undyne. Well, it’s listed as “STRONGFISH91 (Undyne)” but same thing. You reach behind Papyrus again until you latch on to _your_ flip phone.

_What are you doing?_

_I thought you were asleep, C._ You whisper as you open the contacts list.

_Ghosts can’t sleep, idiot. Let me ask again: What are you doing?_

You begin typing in the number. _Making sure I’m prepared._

_For what?_

_Anything._ You close both phones and return them to their spot on the couch arm. Then you push back into the couch and do your best to get comfortable underneath two grown monster-skeletons.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the next chapter will be posted on the sixth. some things happen. it might get to be what the kids are calling *angsty*


	20. The Common Good Isn't Good for the Commoners, If We Are Honest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You make a phone call.

It’s been a few days.

A few _long_ days.

Not that you mind the company you are in, no it isn’t that. Papyrus is just about as much of a bundle of joy as you had expected, and you and Sans are getting along better. It’s just that they won’t let you do anything. You aren’t sure if Papyrus knows exactly what is going on, or if he’s just going along with what Sans says, but either way Papyrus makes you promise to not leave Snowdin before he leaves the house without someone else (Sans) every time he goes out.

Sans on the other hand… Well, you assume that those loads hit him a lot harder than he was comfortable saying, and now he was doing his best to prevent them. It was the most reasonable explanation you could think of. That did make you a little nervous though, Sans knows you’re down here to break the barrier. Are the loads really so bad that he’d give up his chance at seeing the sky? Either way, the way he was following you around like some sort of lost puppy every time you stepped foot outside was beginning to get on your nerves. You're and adult for godssakes, and you could handle yourself!

Following a train of thought like that, though, it makes you feel pretty awful. These time shenanigans are apparently pretty bad, and yet you’re taking them in stride. Like it’s nothing. That’s kinda scary.

_Are you overthinking things again?_ Chara startles you out of your thoughts, making you drop the soapy dish you had been holding.

 _Uh, no?_ You scramble around the full sink for a moment before grabbing it again. _Just thinking of … more jokes?_

_That’s a lie and you know it._ C floats themself up around your head and starts pulling out flower petals to toss wherever.  _I’m not some idiot you can lie to with a quick word, I can see through you Frisky._

_Well,_ you go back to scrubbing pasta sauce off plates. _Technically speaking, I’m the one that can see through you._

_UGH fine, keep your petty secrets, just stop making puns at me._ They move back to sit atop the fridge and toss translucent objects at you from afar.  _Hey so what are you going to do next?_

_You’ve asked me that like a billion times today._ You sigh and grab another plate from the pile of dirty things.

_GAH I KNOW. It’s because you aren’t doing fuck all Frisky!_ They kick their legs out in boredom, but they just phase through the fridge beneath them. If you didn’t agree with C about this, you’d probably laugh at their childish display.  _We’ve been here for_ days _! When are we going to get it rolling again?_

You sigh and pull your hands from the soapy water. As much as you like Chara, or at least, as much as you _think_ you like Chara, they were getting uncomfortably close to sounding like Undyne.  _Soon_ , you tell them.

_Soon? Man, I suppose you were right. You really are_ nothing _like Frisk. They blew through Snowdin almost every time._

Grabbing the dish towel, you dry your hands off then turn to Chara, shaking a little. _Well, I’m not Frisk._  What would it take for them to understand?  _This is what I’ve been trying to tell you the whole two weeks I’ve been down here!_

They look shocked at your outburst. You couldn’t care in the slightest. _I’m not Frisk, and I never will be. Stop pushing the issue. I’ll think of something soon._ And with that, you stalk out of the kitchen, a half baked and admittedly terrible idea already forming.

They want something? Oh, you’ll give them something. You’re **Determined**.

…

Your dramatic exit is ruined by Chara calling out that your game has been saved. There is a moment’s pause before you give a resigned sigh and thank them for letting you know. There is another pause before they remind you that the last of the dishes are still waiting to be done. Sighing again (Man, you sure are sighing a lot these days), you head back to finish your task. 

You really should plan your dramatic exits out better.

* * *

You’re sitting on the porch, phone in your hands and butterflies in your stomach. There would be no going back after this. Chara can’t quite reach out here, the tether doesn’t stretch that far, so at least they won’t hear anything. For a moment you wonder why you’re being so secretive about this. They were the one that wanted you to make some progress after all, this would be progress! A whole bunch of it! So much progress in fact, that hopefully, you’re journey would be over!

Heh, they won’t like it though. That’s why you’re out here doing it. Getting the ball moving. You aren’t Frisk and you won’t ever be Frisk. They may have been able to make it through in one piece, save everyone, hero protagonist bullshit, but you aren’t Frisk. This will just be as close as you can get and everyone will have to deal with it.

You take a deep breath and press call.

_“MoshiMoshi~”_

“Um.” You had not been expecting _that_ of all things. “Is this Undyne, of the Royal Guard?”

_“OF COURSE IT IS! Nobody else is good enough to be CAPTAIN. What can I do for you?”_

You pause. The butterflies have picked up again. “You have six human souls, right?”

_“Of course! Just one more, than it’s to the SURFACE. Aren’t you excited?”_

“Haha, yeah.” A nervous laugh bubbles up “One more, huh.”

_“That’s what I JUST SAID. C’mon, twerp! You gotta Listen!”_

“Yeah, sorry.” Maybe this was a bad idea? You could still figure out another way, right?

 _“So what was it that you needed so badly that you called the Captain’s personal phone?”_  You hadn't realized that this would be her _personal_ number. Shit! At least she sounds more interested than angry.

This way is as good as any other you figure. “Well, I think I have the answer to your problems.”

_“What? How?”_

The cold wind is whipping at your uncovered skin. You really should hurry this along. “Would you be willing to provide an escort to the King? I’d like to meet the monster who’s going to use my soul to save his people.”

_“Use you s - WAIT. IS THERE A HUMAN ON THIS LINE?”_

“Heh, took you long enough to figure it out.” Well, now there is literally no going back. “Are you able to help me, Captain Undyne?”

 _“HELL YEAH. I’d do just about ANYTHING for the human that’s about to save us! Just let me know where you are and I’ll swing by to pick you up!”_ If it wasn’t for the fact you just signed away your soul, literally, you’d laugh at how casual she sounds. As if you hadn’t just signed away your soul.

“I’m in Snowdin right now.”

 _“Snowdin, huh. I can be there in 10 minutes. DON’T BE LATE.”_ The line goes dead.

Ten minutes. Wow. That seems really … soon. You look at the time on your phone. It’s barely even noon. Unless you did something drastic in these next ten minutes, you’d be dead by the end of the day. That’s honestly a little exhilarating to think about.

 

_Sure, I’ll be dead but the monsters will be free. Sans and Papyrus and Toriel could be watching the stars together tonight._

 

But you won’t be with them.

 

_I’ll be with them in spirit? They’ll be remembering me?_

 

Would they?

 

_I’m their friend right? They’ll remember me, because I’m their friend._

 

But are you really?

Sans had been pretty glad when you said that you could take care of yourself, he didn’t need to hang out at home, babysitting you. He could get back to his life, Papyrus could get back to his life, you’d be fine. Did this count as fine?

Anyways, Sans didn’t need your permission to leave you alone, but he seemed a lot happier now that he had it.

And Toriel, she had been so happy to be rid of you. She seems to be in such a better mood when you call now, instead of when you had been there.

You were doing this for them, and this would be your “thank you” for all they had done for you. Breaking the barrier, that would be your last hurrah.

 

_What about Monique and Jay?_

 

You had forgotten them. You had honestly _forgotten_ about your friends from the surface. What sort of person are you?

 

_They don’t deserve a friend as shitty as me. I’m sure they’re much happier now that I’m gone._

 

You check the time on your phone again. Four minutes have passed, you really should be leaving now so that Undyne doesn’t come hunt you down. Slowly, like you’ve forgotten how your limbs work, you go back into the house and head straight to your backpack. You rip out a page and grab a pen. On the scrap you write a small note to Sans. In the back of your mind you feel terrible for leaving it all on him, but you think that he would be able to break what is about to transpire to Papyrus a lot better than you would be able to.

 

_Sans,_

_I’m sorry, I know I said I’d show you some of the more interesting things the surface has to offer, but you’re going to have to find them on your own._

_Make sure to visit the ocean at least once, go to a planetarium, take Paps to a nascar race, and scare the shit outta some kids on Halloween._

_Enjoy the Stars for me._

_Seeya Space Cowboy._

 

The note doesn’t really say much, but then again, you don’t have much to say. You leave it on the top of your stuff in your bag. Papyrus would have a problem going through your belongings, but you figure Sans would be too lazy to care, making this the perfect spot for it. They were both at work currently, but they’d both be home soon enough. You just count your lucky stars that Chara is too preoccupied with something else to come out and stop you now.

Remembering that you are on a time limit, you pull on your jacket and boots (two things you had forgotten to put on earlier), and run out of the house. Electing to not let Undyne know that you had been staying with the brothers, you take off towards the break between Waterfall and Snowdin.

When you make it there, Undyne is waiting. She runs at you. The way her armour catches in the light makes you want to scream and run too, but the grin on her face roots you in place. As much as she scares the absolute shit out of you, you’re doing this for her as well.

“You are the human!” She stops just ahead of you, eerily similar to how Papyrus would. “Are you READY, Punk?”

You do your best to sound pumped. It’s hard to do anything else when in her presence. “Yeah, let’s do this, Captain.”

She laughs boisterously. “CAPTAIN? Well, sure, I suppose! But you don’t need to call me that!” Undyne grabs your hand and starts leading you towards the river. “You’re the one that will save the MONSTERS! You don’t need to be so formal with me.”

She’s killed you violently twice now. You aren’t overly sure that you _want_ to be informal with her. But, then again, this is the woman who killed you violently twice now and could make it a third if she really wanted to. If she says you should informal with her, you were going to be informal with her.

“S-sure Undyne.” She’s stopped tugging on your arm and is now just loafing around on the river bank. “What are you waiting for?”

“We’re going to Asgore, punk. Do you think I REALLY want to WALK all the way there on my day off? Besides, Riverperson can get us there way faster than by just walking.”

“River… person?” She just gives you a toothy grin. It is so strange how nice she is being now.

 

 _Perhaps it is because she know’s I’m not resisting? I’m doing this willingly and she knows this. At least, she doesn’t seem to care whether I’m doing this willingly or not._ _  
_

_That’s a little troubling, how quickly she accepts that I’m going to give UP my LIFE here. It’s not like I can blame her though, if someone came promising freedom, I would be just as quick to accept. She just want’s to see the sky._

_I’ve seen it a million times, I can let her have her excitement about it now._

 

The water laps gently at the river bank and Undyne nods along to some unheard song in her head. Right about now, Chara would be filling the silence with some sort of witty commentary to keep you company. You never would have thought that you’d miss that annoying child, but here you are. Missing them.

The quiet is beginning to get uncomfortable when Undyne clears her throat. “There they are, finally.” She leans out over the water, her armour getting splashed around her ankles ‘YO RIVERPERSON! OVER HERE!!”

A cloaked person, using a long stick to direct a small boat, like some sort of gondola, pushes themself up to the shore. “Tra~ La~ La! Hello Undyne! Hello Human!”

“Hey Riverperson, can you take me and my charge down to Hotla - WAIT ONE SECOND. How'd you know they are a human?” She takes a step out into the water. It’s probably freezing, but you suppose that since she’s part fish  (probably) it should be fine?

Riverperson's hood drops a little further as they bring up a hand. "mmmmMMagic~~" They say, shaking it. 

Undyne just nods, as if that was a totally reasonable and expected response. "So, can you get us there?"

“Of course~~” They maneuver the gondola to be right beside the bank and Undyne holds a hand out to you.

“C’mon punk. Get in!” You reach out and take her hand, a bit hesitantly perhaps. Undyne uses this to pull you forward and pick you up. Like feet off the ground, you have no control over what happens now, picked up. Taking you by your arms like some sort of doll, she carries you from the river bank and sets you down on the gondola.

 

_That was only about a foot in distance. I could have easily done that myself._

 

You take one look at her face and then settle down into your seat on the gondola. It’d be a lot easier than arguing with her. No one says anything for a while, but Riverperson doesn’t start to move either. In fact…

“Undyne? Uhm, are you alright?” She’s still standing in the water. Glaring at the boat. For some reason, you get the feeling that she doesn’t do well on them. “Hey, look if you changed your mind, I’m totally fine with walking.”

The fact that this could be the out you’re beginning to look for is not lost on you.

“WHAT? No way!! I said we would take this short cut, so we’re doing that!” Undyne gives you a challengers grin before hopping in. For a moment you wonder if the sudden movement will be enough to knock Riverperson over, but they stay perfectly upright.

“Off~~ we go!” Riverperson pushes their stick down into the water and, as they said, off you go.

* * *

The cave systems are beginning to get warmer, and definitely a lot damper when you realize Undyne hasn’t been talking for lack of words. You turn around in your seat to ask her something, but your train of thought is quickly derailed when you see that her normally blue scales have turned a lovely shade of seafoam green. Well, it would be lovely if she didn’t proceed to empty her stomach over the side of the boat.

“Are you a -”

“Say another word, _Human_ , and I will toss you into the fucking water.”

You decide that it’s probably best to not say anything.

Trying not to focus on the violent and ill fish woman behind you, you turn your attention to the cave systems you are following. It’s much darker here, you notice, than it was in Snowdin. Not just because you’ve moved much downstream from any sort of civilization, actually down here it seems like the stone walls are absorbing the light. There are however some bioluminescent bits of flora, growing out of the the rocky earth. Plenty of mushrooms (You wonder for a moment if they are edible), and some glorious blue flowers. The strange lights that they cast reflect of the moving water in weird ways. It's beautiful in a dark, mysterious way. You love it.

Undyne’s sounds of distress fade after a while, and all that is left is the humming of Riverperson and the lap of the water against the boat. Almost? In the distance, down some offshoot cave, you can make out rainfall that sounds like music. It fades as you pass, but, you suppose, it's always raining somewheres else.

It is now that your thoughts start acting up again. What if this had been the wrong choice? What if, huh. It didn’t mean much, they’d still get out. That’s why you were here right?

Right.

But, what if you could have done it differently, found a way to stay alive? Well, you wring the hem of your jacket in thought, _well I guess a different version of myself would then follow through and make it out._

“Hey kid.” Undyne puts a hand on your shoulder. “You have no idea how much this means to us. To me.”

You nod but keep your gaze downward.

“You’re saving us. That’s amazing.”

“Yes, Human. It’s amazing~” Riverperson says in a singsong voice.

“You really are brave for doing this.”

You shake your head, watching the way the boat shifts beneath your feet. “I’m not… I’m not brave, Undyne. Just determined.”

Her hand pats your shoulder stiffly. “Yeah, hah. I forgot about that _determination_ stuff. It’s pretty crazy if you ask me.”

You can hear her ponytail fwish back and forth as she shakes her head. In disbelief probably, at how something so seemingly simple had make you so complacent in the giving of your own life. Suddenly, the boat shifts and you assume with all that motion, Undyne made herself sick again. The gentle rocking may be enough to make her sick, but it’s beginning to lull you to sleep…

 _Whoops_.

* * *

 “HEY PUNK! WAKE UP!” Your eardrums are assaulted by a voice that seems to be even louder than Papyrus’. As if that was possible. “C’mon! It can’t take _that_ long to wake up ONE stupid human.”

“I’m awake, now, Undyne.” You raise a hand to rub the sleep from your eyes before opening them.

Somehow, you’re back on solid ground. Solid _orange_ ground. Just where in the Underground are you?

“Hey, where are we?”

“HOTLAND!” Undyne flashes you the toothiest grin you’ve ever seen. It's pretty impressive, since she's been grinning at you all day. “We’re almost to Asgore now, are you excited?”

“Heh, sure.” Her good mood is a little infectious, although it takes you a minute to remember that your end is her beginning. Despite it all, she’s still so excited. You regret for a moment that you never got the chance to be a proper friend to her. Undyne would probably make for a pretty wild party guest, and you figure that she’d probably host a good overnight get-together.

You finally notice that you’re lying on the ground. _Gross._ You push yourself up, taking Undyne’s outstretched hand for support. “You said we were close, right? So where to next?”

“We’re gonna go see my girlfriend!”

Weren’t you going to go see Asgore? So he could fuck you up? “Uhm, I th -”

“YEAH I KNOW.” She cuts you off. “Look, Hotland isn’t the best place to be for a fish outta water.”

Oh. You hadn’t thought of that.

“I hadn’t thought of that.”

You look at Undyne. Like, _look_ at her. She looks a lot paler, washed out. There’s sweat dripping down her fins and the bright red ponytail is looking flat. Even the eyepatch she’s wearing looks a little slick from the heat. You hadn’t realized, but the heat must really be getting to her.

“Alright Undyne, let’s go see your girlfriend.”

Undyne practically picks you up again and goes sprinting towards a giant silver building you hadn’t noticed in the distance. While you’re jostled around, you notice that while there isn’t a river going around the ground, it’s lava. Or does it count as magma?  
  
_Like technically this isn’t aboveground? But it’s still open to the air. Which is magma supposed to be - open to some air or open to the sky?_

 

“Hey, Human. Are you alright there?” You realize that you are now sitting down. In an air conditioned room. It's so much cooler in here, how had you not noticed? What the hell, why are you so easily distracted?

“Yeah, yeah. Where are we?”

“Alphy’s lab.” You take a look around. It’s a little sterile looking, but it still looks pretty lived in. Maybe it’s a house/lab combo. Scientists do that right? Undyne steps away from you and bellows further into the building. “HEY ALPHY, YA HERE BABE?”

There is no response.

“Huh, not here I guess.” She shrugs at you. “Welp, I guess there’s no reason to stick around. We were just here so I could catch my breath. Let’s go, Human.”

You are picked up again and dragged back out into the sweltering heat. This had not been what you were picturing when you asked for an escort to Asgore, but you aren’t complaining.

* * *

The elevator is shaking a little, and you’re pretty sure it’s going horizontally right now. Undyne is standing beside you, impatiently tapping her foot and humming along to the song playing through the speakers.

“So Asgore’s house is right through here. I’ll introduce you, I guess, but then I should be heading out.”

 

_She’s not going to stay? No, no nonono. I don’t…_

_I don’t think I can do it if she leaves._

 

You snake a hand out and grab one of hers. It’s a little scaley, but way dryer than you thought it would be. She looks down at you, confused and maybe a little annoyed. At least, that’s what you assume.

“Not brave.”

“What? Yeah, you already told me, not brave. Determined.”

Your eyes are boring holes into your feet. “Not all that determined either…”

“What are you saying, punk?” There’s a hint of anger in her voice that makes you flinch. All those spears that got tossed through you come back at once.

“Will you stay, and make sure I don’t back out?” Why are there little, wet spots on your shoes, what’s - oh.

You’re crying. “Please?”

You’re still holding Undyne’s hand, maybe a little desperately now. She grips it tighter, managing to smile softly. “Nah kid. You are brave. It takes real goddamned guts to ask for help like that.”

The elevator stops moving and she practically drags you out. Her almost wild grin is back. Looks like soft, sharing time is over. On the outside, it’s like an Aboveground suburb here. Minus the grass and trees, maybe, but a suburb nonetheless. This is New Home, you suppose. A city full of monsters, around the king’s home.

You aren’t seeing any monsters, though, which strikes you as weird. This is where a vast majority of them live, right? “Undyne? Where is everyone?” It’s also pretty grey here. For once, the stone walls aren’t painted or tinted some sort of colour, they’re just grey.

“Hm? Oh, uh. Hm, well, I don’t really know? But it’s pretty normal I guess. As nice as Asgore is, most people don’t stick around here for too long.”

The road gets a little wider and the homes move farther away from it. You wonder what this might look like if it was up on the Surface instead of down here. It’s quiet here, only the sound of your breathing and your footsteps echoing off the walls. By now, you’ve gotten better at ignoring the doubtful thoughts. One of the big things with that is the fucking ripped monster beside you, who has promised to make sure you go through with this.

 

_Yeah, hah, no going back now. This is how it ends._

_…_

_Sorry everyone._

 

Undyne, still holding your hand, leads you down the road right to the huge double doors of some sort of Hall. There are bits of purple glass inlayed, the same colour as Toriel’s dress. That … That makes you even sadder. You had made a promise to her, and you wouldn’t be able to follow through.

This is why you shouldn’t make promises.

 

_Sorry Toriel._

 

She lets go of your hand to push open the doors. You’d offer to help, they look pretty heavy, but it’s _Undyne_. You doubt she would let you help at all. Ever. With anything. You stay where you are standing. The doors groan with the pressure as they opened, and you can see that inside the hall, it glows with orange light. It reminds you of sunshine. Your feet move forward on their own, and you find yourself looking down toward the end of the hall and staring down the stained glass windows. You remember that symbol, it was the one on Toriel’s dress (and the clothes she gave you), but it seemed to be everywhere.

Whatever it was, it was important.

It’s bright in here, but as you look around you decide it isn’t like sunlight. Despite it coming through cathedral-esque windows, it is much to manufactured feeling. There is no warmth coming from them, the truest mark of something man-made. Or in this case, monster-made. You walk through the hall in a state of wonder, but Undyne looks much more nervous.

For a moment you think about what the colour red would like painted across the support columns.

 

_That’s such a weird thought._

_Although, lately I’ve been enamoured with that colour._

_Wonder why..._

 

At least you won’t have to worry about it for long. You’re almost there, at least.

Undyne starts peeking around the columns now like she’s looking for someone. “Are you alright, Undyne?”

“What? Yeah.” She mumbles as she leans around one, but comes back to look at you. “Yeah. You don’t have to worry about it, punk. LET’S GO SEE ASGORE!”

“Haha, yeah.” You rubs your arms in nervousness. This is it. The end.

Do you regret it?

Well, maybe a little.

You definitely regret not getting to see your cat again. _Sorry Azi._

Undyne grabs your hand again and starts dragging you through the hall. At the very end, there is an open doorway leading to another grey hall. She doesn’t hesitate in the slightest and through it you go. For a short while you are able to keep pace, but Undyne there is no slowing her down once she gets going. Her speed is way too much for you to manage after more than a few strides. Eventually, she just picks you up again.

You have to admit, you’re enjoying being picked up a lot more than you used to.

You notice the change in the air before you pass through another doorway, it gets more humid and the air smells like a garden. There are flowers on the ground here, and they look familiar. Wait… They were the same flowers as the ones that broke your fall when you first fell. They were the same yellow flora that Toriel had seemingly everywhere in her house. They were the same ones as Flowey was.

Undyne sets you down without a flourish, and your feet sink a little into the flowers. You look at the ground for a moment before your gaze travels up, first to a throne, then to a rich purple cape, and finally to a horned goat monster with a small crown on their head.

“ASGORE!” Undyne rushes forward and grasps the monster in a giant hug. For a moment you wonder if she’s going to be able to pick the other up, but somehow, she manages.

“Hello, Undyne!” They - he chuckles. This is king? Although he looks regal and imposing (8 feet tall, huge horns, giant cape), you get the feeling he is a huge softie.

That might just be the obvious affection you can see in him as he hugs Undyne. Her back is away, so his face is towards you. It looks soft, and not just because it appears to be covered in the same fur as Toriel has. If he’s anything like her, you get the feeling that your soul will be in good hands. Why had she been so worried?

The moment goes on for a few minutes longer until they finally detangle. “Asgore, this is a HUMAN!! HUMAN! THIS IS THE KING!”

He looks at you, terrified for a moment. You can recognize the fear in his eyes because they mirror yours. “J-just Asgore is fine, child.”

She runs over to you and grabs you to set you down beside Asgore. His height is even more intimidating up close. “H-hello.”

Asgore’s head whips to the side. “Undyne, what is the meaning behind this?” His voice is low, and demanding but you can still hear it. Something about you scared him.

Perhaps, if he was this cautious around all humans, they would be okay on the Surface. Yeah, yeah. If he was leading them, the monsters would be fine. Sans and Papyrus and Toriel and all of them, they'd be fine.

Your previous terror and nervousness are replaced by determination.

“The meaning is that I want for you to use my soul to reach the surface.”

He looks even more scared. “Are you sure, little one?” The mirror to Toriel’s speech is not lost on you.

“I am very sure.”

“Well, you two seem to be getting along GREAT!” Undyne picks you up in a huge hug. (You are a reasonably sure that she cracked a rib.) “So I’m going to be just outside. Thank you, human. You can do it punk. I believe in you.” There is another quick hug, but then she practically sprints out. You almost catch sight of tears in her eye.

But that had to just be your imagination, right?

“Heh, so what now?” You ask as Asgore takes a step back and practically falls into his throne.

“Now, now I try to convince you not to do this, Child.” He … doesn’t want you to do this? The well determination is fading. Why did Undyne have to leave, she had been so motivating for you!

 

_Is it wrong, how excited I am for this? How determined I am to die?_

 

“What? No, no! No one deserves to be stuck under here, no one! Whatever it takes!” You take a step forward, absently, but it still makes the tall and regal monster flinch.

That … That hadn’t been what you were expecting. To be honest, none of this was.

He sighs. It’s a full body action, one that seems to age him considerably. “You’re doing this of your own volition? You know what this entails?”

“I am and I do.” You say with absolute certainty. “There are people here, people who deserve to see the stars more than anything.” He flinches again.

“May I ask who you are speaking of?” The King tugs a flower from the ground and begins to pull off petals. It’s a “Chara” action. Oh man, if they were here now, they'd rip you a new one for even _considering_ this course of action. 

“Well, the Skeleton brothers for one, they lent me their couch for about a few days.” Man, if either of _them_ were here now…

There is some sort of a crash from out in the hall, and you can make out the low sound of Undyne talking to someone. Perhaps on the phone? In comparison, King Asgore’s silence is deafening. Why doesn’t he want this? What could be holding him back? You give him an angry glare, this was _your_ decision.

“Those boys, they deserve everything you can give them. So does everyone here though, I’ve never felt more at home with complete strangers.” Instead of staring him down, you now try to appeal to him. “The kindness of monsters should earn you the world, and that’s what I’m trying to give to you.”

“Are you sure about this, Child? What about your friends, the Skeleton Brothers?” Asgore looks at you suddenly. The King has a look of determination that yet again, mirrors yours. He must _really_ want you to take the way out he's offering.

There is a moment of silence when you realize his opposition is because he does not want to be the one who takes such opportunities away from _you_. Well, you don’t blame him for that.

Nobody wants to be the one to _kill_ someone else, even for their own gain. You hold out hope that he’ll do it anyways, though.

“They’ll be fine. I was just some random human who slept on their couch for a few days.” You shrug. “Those boys are strong, they’ll get over it soon enough.”

Your eyes find your feet again and you let out a tiny laugh.

“Besides? What’s one random human to the whole sky?”

Asgore seems to finally take the hint that you _wanted_ this, that nothing would stop you. “If you are sure.” He stands and faces you. Those eight feet of height are now towering over you, and the sad smile he’s wearing says it all.

Even though he doesn’t agree with you, he’d do this for you.

For his people.

“I’m sure.”

His hand reaches out and you can feel your soul beginning to press against your ribs. You smile at him and close your eyes, thinking of your friends. Hoping they won’t be _bonely_ without you.

“Enjoy the stars for me.”

And then you close your eyes as it all goes dark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **backs out of the room while shooting continuous finger guns and winking.
> 
> so hey. this all happened. where do you think it will go next? well, you probably know, but still?
> 
> (i also *edited* more of the layout of the underground. I'm calling creative liberty.  
> The next update should be for the 10th)


	21. Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Recovery is a long process.  
> This chapter, however, is not.

 

.

..

...

It’s bright. 

...

You open your eyes.

“-upid, reckless, idiotic, wasteful thing you’ve ever done!” There are hands gripping your shoulders, wrapped around your back. A hug, you slowly realize. You’re being hugged. It’s so bright that you can’t really see anything. You can, however, smell something. Something like flowers and old blood. Chara.

They’re hugging you?

Something whaps against the back of your head. “You’re a goddamned IDIOT,” Your real name is even used for emphasis - no getting off easy with the nickname ‘Frisk’.

Well, they were _also_ hitting you. You suppose it’s an even trade-off.

…

Wait.

You shouldn’t be being hugged right now. You shouldn’t be _being_ right now.

“I-it didn’t work.” You rasp out. Your voice sounds like it hasn’t been used in years. “It didn’t work, it didn’t stick, oh god, why didn’t it stick?!”

Those same hands that had been holding you push you back. You can almost imagine how their eyes would move, the tick of their head showcases their searching gaze. “Because, dummy, you’re supposed to _survive._ You’re supposed to make it out and help the Monsters aboveground too. You’re supposed to be _happy_ with them, goddammit!”

You can only give them a blank stare while you process what they’ve said. They just - it takes a moment, but you realize that they basically just dismantled your entire thinking behind giving up your soul.

“B-but,” you cling to the crumbling ideas that lead to your last death, “there’s no way for me to do that. I’m just some random person, a nobody, a _human_. Why on earth - how on earth, could I be that important?” You want to scream. They don’t understand!

Chara sighs heavily before jerking your head back to face them. “You are worth more to this timeline than you are _obviously_ capable of understanding. No matter what they feel about you now, every monster here will eventually have a soul filled with _lowercase_ love for you. No matter who you are, you are their saviour. Everyone’s saviour.” They smell like summers long past and every decision you have ever made.“You can be your own saviour, I know you can do it. Promise.”

“You do?” It’s hard to look into flowers for comfort, but that’s all circumstance will allow.

“I do.” Chara nods and then releases your head from their grasp.

That’s more uplifting than almost anything else Chara’s ever said to you. It’s, well, it’s honestly the reassurance you had been needing. Those were the words that you had been _dying_ to hear. The grossest sounding sob gurgles out from your lips and you practically collapse onto their lap crying.

Chara only gives you a blank stare (probably), before resigning and wrapping you up in another hug. “You’re a real crybaby, you know that? That’s always more trouble than it’s worth.”

 _Yeah_ , you think as you sob into their shoulder. _Yeah, I am._

* * *

It takes a while for you to calm down enough to think coherently again, hours it feels like. When you finally do, you take a look around. You’re … on the skeleton brother’s kitchen floor? When had you last saved?

“Hey, C, when are we?”

“Uhm,” They roll backwards out of your embrace. Touchy-feely time is over it seems. It had helped though, while it lasted, so you don’t mind. “About two days ago? Something like that, I think.”

Yeah, yeah ok. That makes sense to you. For a moment you struggle to pull yourself off the ground, but you manage. All that crying and dying was seriously draining. “Where’s everybody else?”

They bump up towards the ceiling and take out a flower to toy with. “Papyrus is in his room, can’t you hear him? Big guy is so noisy … Sans should be at work, I think. But after that _stunt_ , who knows. He might be anywhere.” You wince. Shit.

You hadn’t even thought of the way Sans would react. All that progress towards actually being friends, gone. There’s now way he’d be able to tolerate you, the time skipping asshole who did that _willingly_. What the hell are you going to say so that he doesn’t fuck you up right there on the spot?

“What are you going to do when he comes back?” Chara wakes you out of your reverie to ask the question that sent you into it.

“I have no idea.” You say so quiet that you wonder if they heard you. But they always hear you.

“Well,” they start, floating near the ceiling, “you’d better think of something soon. Someone’s coming.”

Straining to hear what they hear, you nod absently to yourself. What you’re going to say depends a lot on who it is, but you’re pretty sure you know. The soft noises from upstairs stopped when you weren’t paying attention _(read as: crying)_ and there is only one way the cause of those noises could have gone. Taking a breath to steel yourself, you call out with decent volume. “Papyrus?”

There is a random ‘thud’ and the creaking of a door from upstairs.

You sigh. “I know you’re there, Paps. You may as well come out here.”

More creaking, this time on the stairs. “Are you sure?” He’s whispering again … Had your little ‘stunt’ fucked your relationship with Papyrus too? You look down to your hands and see them shaking. Not just a little either. What would you do if you _had_ fucked everything up?

“Of course I’m sure. Why would I lie to the Great Papyrus?” You struggle to keep your voice steady as you sit back on the floor. Maybe that will help.

He chuckles to himself while coming closer, perhaps a bit nervously as every possible, terrible outcome of this conversation plays itself out in your mind. “Of Course, Friend. My Apologies For Doubting You.”

You are definitely freaking still out when he makes it into the kitchen. “Friend?”

“Y-yeah Paps?” At this point, the best you can manage is an almost steady breathing cycle and to not be running away from this inevitably terrible conversation.

He looks at you for a moment, the expression on his face makes your heart feel like it's breaking into two. “Are you alright?”

“No.” What’s the point in lying?

“Would you like a hug?”

“Yeah.”

Papyrus walks over and slowly, like you’re some sort of scared animal, wraps you in a gentle hug. “I do not know what is wrong, Friend, but I am here for you.”

One large, gloved hand gently pats your shoulder while he continues to whisper soft things about how you are a lovely person, even if you are unable to recognize it. For someone who, only minutes before, had been in the middle of a sobbing fit, you have a surprisingly large amount of tears left to shed.

You aren’t sure when it happens, but at some point Papyrus picks you up and moves this whole operation to the couch. By now, you’ve stopped crying and are just in a state of tired death. Tired because of death. Tired/death. Whatever.

He detaches himself from you to go back into the kitchen. After a moment, Papyrus returns with two mugs in hand and passes one to you. The warm scent of tea wafts towards you. You take a large gulp.

“Thank you Papyrus.” It is perhaps a bit stronger than you would have personally made it, but delicious none the less. “This means a lot to me.”

“I am certain it does! The Great Papyrus is the Best at comforting friends!” He plops down onto the couch beside you, but at a comfortable distance. “Perhaps, as a distraction, you would like to hear a story?”

Well, you’d never turn down a good distraction, especially not one in the form of a story. You’ve seen Papyrus’ collection. There are some pretty good works in there. “Alright, tell me a story.”

Papyrus looks to have stars in his eyes. Like, almost tangible, real stars, not just the expression.

Perhaps you should … _C…?_

_I have no goddamned clue._ Well, okay, you suppose. Just chalk it up to magic and move on.

“There Once Were Two Skeletons.” Papyrus starts, back to a more normal volume. It’s hard to miss the obvious glee radiating from him. “One Was Tall And Very Great, And The Other Was Short And Similarly Great.”

For some reason, you get the feeling he is talking about himself and Sans.

“The Pair Lived In A Snowy Town In The Underground, Working As Sentries For The Royal Guard. Only The Short One Took This Duty Seriously, However.” Okay, hold up. That doesn’t sound right. “The Tall One Was More Preoccupied With The Safety Of His Brother.

“In Case You Have Not Yet Guessed, Friend, The Tall One Is Me!” You _had_ guessed that, and then retracted that guess. “Well, A Version Of Myself At Least. An Alternate.”

You’re a little confused.

“I’m a little confused.”

“Well, It Is Simply A Dream. One Of Many, Where I Am Someone Else. Sans, Undyne, Alphys, Even Mettaton! We Are Similar To Our Normal Selves, But Different In A Way I Do Not Think I Could Properly Explain. Just Think Of Them As “Alternates”. It’s What I Do!”

That makes about as much sense as anything else. Although marking this one under ‘magic’ may be wrong, you decide to do so anyways. You take a sip of your drink, absently, as you consider what this may mean.

“As I Was Saying, However, In This Dream I Am The Lazybones Skeleton And Sans Is The Hard Worker! I Know It May Be Hard To Believe, But He Is Extremely Good At His Job! That Sans Even Has An Outfit Similar To Mine! Perhaps It Would not Suit My Sans, But The Other Wears It Very Well.

“Anyways, In This Dream, Sans Still Has His Love For Puns, But He Uses A Lot More New Content So I Think I Like Them Better. At Least He Does Not Go Reusing The Same Old Bone Related Puns All The Time.”

You snicker and take another gulp of your tea. Sans _does_ reuse the same jokes a lot, you’ve noticed, and you’ve only been here a week and a half. Probably. All the time shenanigans are messing with your head. “What other sort of dreams like these do you have?” You ask, curiosity sufficiently piqued.

“A Great Many! You Will Have To Be More Specific.”

_Ask him if he remembers one where a child is holding a knife._ Chara intones in your head.

 _There are plenty of Children out there that hold knives._ You tell them. _You will have to be more specific._

_A child in a striped shirt and plastic toy knife._

You relay the question to Papyrus.

He ponders it for a moment, downing more of his own drink, but eventually responds. “I Do. It Is … Not The Best Of Those Dreams, So I Would Prefer To Speak Of A Different One, If You Do Not Mind.”

Chara quickly agrees, berating themself for asking such a stupid question. _Of course he would, _ They say to themselves. You don’t understand anything, but you are quick to oblige. “Are there any where I am there?”

“Perhaps. It Is Hard To Tell. Some Of These Dreams Leave Us All With Different Appearances. Sometimes They Are More Radical Changes Than Others. Did You Know There Is One Where Sans Wears A Red Sweater And  A Black Jacket Instead Of White And Blue?”

You didn’t. “No?”

“It Is Very Odd, And I Do Not Like That One Much Either. The Papyrus Who Lives There Is Not Very Great. He Is, In Fact, Rather Mean.”

Papyrus, mean? You’re calling bullshit. You tell him as much.

“Well, Sometimes I suppose That Papyrus Is Not _Too_ Bad. Sometimes I Dream That He Has An Affinity For Children.” He leans back to think. “There Was One, An Orange Feathered Monster-Child That Lived With A Human, That This Papyrus Was Particularly Fond Of. Perhaps The Human Was You? That Was Only One Dream Among Many Though.”

“Maybe, but I guess I’ll never really know. But, he, you(?) doesn’t sound all _that_ terrible.” Anyone who likes kids can’t be too bad, right?

“I Suppose In That One, Maybe Not. But In Other Dreams Like It, That Papyrus Is A Huge Jerk. I Am - _He_ Is Constantly Being Mean To Sans, Calling Him And Other Monsters Rude Names, Breaking Things For No Reason, Sometimes Going So Far As To Physically Harm Others.

“There Was One I Remember, Where The Other Sans Was Protecting A Human With Flowers Growing From Their Body. That Papyrus Did Not Like It.” Papyrus gets a far-away look on his face and shivers. The way his bones clack together makes a weird noise that fills the silence. “But! We Are Here To Talk About Fun And Or Happy Dreams! Not Nightmares.”

Okay, new subtopic then. “Have you ever dreamt of the stars?” It seems appropriate.

“I Have!” Papyrus almost immediately picks back up. “In Fact! I Even Have One Dream Where We Are All Living Among The Stars.”

“Really?” When you tried to convince Sans that humans had landed on the moon, he was bewildered and suspicious, yet here was Papyrus believing that some ‘alternate’ version of everyone was living in outer space.

Wait… Alternate?

As In Time/Space?

Does that mean everything he is “dreaming” about is another timeline?

_Hey C. Does that mean everything he is “dreaming” about is another timeline?_

_Yes._ They don’t sound too happy about it either. You have no idea what that means, though.

You tune back into Papyrus’ speech about the _outerspace_ timeline. “- ides, Low Gravity Can Be Extremely Amusing When Used Correctly!” He fixes his gaze on you. “There Was A Human In That Dream, But I Do Not Think It Was You.”

“Why not?” You ask, drinking the last of your tea.

“Because This Human Was A Child, With Messy Hair And A Striped Sweater. But,” he looks you over, “I Suppose There Is Some Resemblance. You Have The Same Eyes!”

Alright, that settles that, you suppose. “Are there any others?”

“Of Course! There Was One Where Sans And I Wore Suits And Carried Around Crowbars. The Same Human Was In This One As Well… For Some Reason, I Feel The Urge To Call Them “Pup” But I Do Not Understand Why. Or Another Where Things Were Mostly The Same As They Are Here But The Human That Fell Had Black Eyes, Sort Of Like A Skeleton’s Eyes! The Sans In This Dream Was Always Confused By The Human. Well, I Suppose The Papyrus Was Too. There Are A Lot Of Confusing Things In These Dreams. Especially The One Where Everyone I Know Is A Temmie Or At Least, Had The Face Of A Temmie. ”He shakes his head, trying to dislodge some sort of imagined image you can’t even begin to comprehend.

“Papyrus,” you are very confused here, “What the hell is a ‘Temmie’?”

He is too lost in thought to hear you. It appears that you will have to wonder for a while longer. “No, No. The One Where We Were All Humans Was Much Weirder, What Was I Thinking?”

Human?

“Or Perhaps The One Where The Human Child Is Actually A Monster And We Are All Humans!”

Uhm.

“No! The One Where Everyone Is Only Wearing Bright Colours And Skateboarding Is Most Certainly The Weirdest. Why Was Everyone Skateboarding? There Is Not Even Anywhere To Properly Skateboard In The Underground!!”

What?

You have no idea what on Earth he is talking about.

Although, from what you’ve seen, he’s right. There _isn’t_ anywhere to properly skate here. That doesn’t answer your other question, though, the one that had been slowly gaining power throughout this whole conversation. Who is this human child he keeps talking about?

Papyrus shakes himself from that rambling onslaught and pulls out his phone to check the time. “Oh No! I Have Completely Forgotten About Supper! It Is Much Too Late Now To Make A Proper Meal.”

“What time is it?”

He shows you and - wow. It is pretty late. You must have spent a long time crying. Perhaps you napped at some point too? Cry-slept?

“We could just watch some movies and eat snacks.” You’re not very hungry, and you really would still like the comfort of another person being around.

Papyrus thinks about it for a moment before taking your long empty mug from your hands and retreating to the kitchen. There is a minute of silence before he leans his head around the corner to ask “How Do You Like Your Popcorn?”

Heh, you knew he could never resist a movie night.

_Can we watch the Star Wars movie he has again?_

Papyrus isn’t the only one who could never resist movie night either, you find.

* * *

You wake up the next morning and notice that Sans is still gone. You make breakfast for Papyrus (Still snoozing on the mattress he dragged into the living room) as a thank you for yesterday. You clean house when he goes to work, to keep your mind quiet. You try to convince Chara to tell you what a “Temmie” is for the umpteenth time while you eat lunch. You do play some games on your phone while you wait for Sans to come home. You watch some T.V. with Papyrus while you eat, to fill the quiet. You explain the plot of Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” to him as a sort of pseudo-bedtime story. You curl up on the couch and ask Chara to wake you if anything happens.

* * *

You roll off the couch the next morning to the sounds of Papyrus singing while he cooks. You do the dishes while he tries to figure out what exactly he should make at work. You call Toriel once he has gone to check in with her. You listen to Chara explain the difference between Cinnamon-Butterscotch and Butterscotch-Cinnamon pies while you eat lunch. You do some laundry while you wait for either brother to return home. You show Papyrus how to make macaroni salad for supper and laugh when he says that _his_ food experiments never go over this well. You try to recount some of Spiderman’s more adventurous tales as a story tonight. You listen to Chara hum a barely forgotten tune until you fall asleep.

* * *

You are awoken by Papyrus’ furiously jiggling the handle to his brother’s room while whispering curse words. You balance the idea of a Papyrus who swears (strange, but realistic) and a Sans who never comes back (inconceivable, but currently happening) while you eat your cereal. You do more cleaning to pass the time. You forget to eat lunch, but take a refreshing, non-nightmare filled nap instead. You consider making a snowman outside while trying to pick out what pasta based dish to show Papyrus for supper tonight. You settle on Braided Spaghetti Bread, which you both eat with extreme gusto. You tell the story of a glorious lion named Simba and explain that yes, simba is the word for lion in another language - the cat’s name is literally Lion the lion. You whisper goodnight to Chara and struggle to find a comfortable position on the old couch.

* * *

You shoot up the next morning way too early to the feel of flowers on your face. You try to remember what the nightmare was about and still forget it happened while you eat the pancakes Papyrus makes when he wakes up hours later. You call Toriel to reestablish a sense of normalcy the minute Papyrus leaves the house. You eat leftovers for lunch and decide that tonight you are _not_ eating spaghetti in any way shape or form. You spend the afternoon fretting about where the hell Sans went and if he is alright. You convince Papyrus that soup is the best thing that you could eat right now, and eventually he gives in. You do your best to reassure him that Sans is totally fine when he goes to sleep, but end up forgetting to tell or read a story. You nearly pass out while walking, and barely manage to land safely on the couch.

* * *

You wake to Papyrus once again, cooking pancakes. You ask him if perhaps, he would like to try french toast instead the next day, while you eat. You make sure the notebook is up to date with all the new information you currently have (1 kill by Asgore, on some level Papyrus is aware of other timelines) and begin to play games of tic-tac-toe with Chara on the last page once Papyrus leaves for work. You forget to eat lunch again, but do get an entire house worth of laundry done. You continue to super clean long into the afternoon, and are still going by the time Papyrus returns. You somehow manage to get caught up in his insistence on another movie night and for the second night in nearly a week, eat nothing but junk for your evening meal. You don’t need to tell a story tonight, but you do anyways to make up for forgetting yesterday, which he appreciates. You wait until Papyrus is snoring peacefully on his floor mattress before asking Chara if they think Sans will ever come back, but you’re asleep before they manage to respond.

* * *

You wake up the next morning long before Papyrus does. There is a ringing in your ears that won’t stop and you can still feel those furred hands rip your soul out. One week, you think to yourself. It’s been one week and you’ve had almost no trouble with anyone, but then again. You’ve made no progress.

One week since you last fucked up.

You sigh and lift yourself from the couch, careful not to step on Papyrus’ sleeping form. Although normally you wouldn’t be up for a few more hours, now seems like the opportune moment to get started on your day. A shower first though, you decide, to wash off the sticky/gross of your nightmare.

The water is warm and comforting, you notice when you get in, but you still don’t understand why the skeleton brothers have a nearly full container of shampoo. Why would Skeletons need shampoo? Well, at least you don’t have to go out and buy any for yourself. You just hope that they don’t mind you’ve been using it all this time.

When you finally convince yourself to step out, that surely enough time has passed that it isn’t _quite_ so early anymore, you notice Papyrus isn’t on his mattress anymore. In fact, the mattress isn’t even there. It isn’t until you hear the soft noises coming from his room that you figure out that he must just be cleaning up. There isn’t anything wrong, Papyrus didn’t suddenly up and leave too. You stand for a moment, just reminding yourself that everything will be okay, before making your way back downstairs to get started on breakfast. You did promise him some french toast, and it is now time to make good on that.

All throughout breakfast you keep hearing weird things. For a while, you pass them off as Chara just getting bored and doing something stupid as per the usual, but … You listen to a floorboard creak from somewhere upstairs while you pop another bit of breakfast into your mouth. Whatever is going on up there definitely isn’t because of Chara.

 _Do you think it’s him?_ You ask while washing up the dishes.

_Maybe._ Chara answers, being wonderfully helpful.

_Do you think you can go check?_

_What no! You didn’t watch a single movie I wanted yesterday, go check yourself._ Ugh, what a brat. It isn’t like you can watch the same movie three times in one week, though. That’d just be too much.

Besides, the brother’s don’t even have any Star Wars movie other than the fifth one. You have no idea what sort of plot is trying to be established, but Chara really loves the effects so you let it slide.

Their refusal to be the least bit helpful is totally infuriating, however. You go back to ignoring their presence until they leave again so you can decide what to do.  
Confront? Or ignore?

You think for a moment, and decide that Confront is probably the best action to undertake.

You wait until Papyrus leaves for work before going up, though. The stairs creak a little and your stomach is rife with butterflies. The soft noises are definitely coming from Sans’ room, and although you aren’t sure if he’s actually in there, maybe just saying something out loud will be enough to draw him out.

What to say though, you quietly consider your options while you reach the top of the staircase. Perhaps… no. Maybe…? No, not that either. There’s always lying, you suppose, but decide that not doing that would probably be for the best. All other ideas exhausted, you decide to just tell the truth. It’s something you’ve really been meaning to get of your chest anyways. Now sure of your course of action, you resume walking towards Sans’ room.

“Sans? I don’t know if you’re in there for sure,“ you stop in front of his door and sit against it. This might get long. “but I really need to say this anyways, so I’ll just go ahead.  
“Do you remember, what is it two weeks ago now, the first day after I had decided to stay here? Anyways, do you remember what Undyne said while her and Paps were looking for us?” The quiet noises stop. Either his self-sustaining recycling tornado stopped being so self-sustaining, or Sans really is in there. “Something about how a real friend wouldn’t hide out here, they’d go out and get something done? I couldn’t get that out of my head. That’s the whole reason I’m down here, to get the monsters out. I … “ you trail off, biting back a sob. Why are _you_ so sad? This is just how it is. There’s no point in crying over it.

“I figured she was right. I’ve been having so much fun, just being here with you and Papyrus, ya’know? But what was I actually getting done?” A sick laugh spills out from your lips. “Nothing. So I tried to finally get something done. I-It didn’t work out.”

Inside Sans’ room, there is still silence. You can practically feel it coming out from underneath his door and eating you whole.

“I’m not going to apologize for that. I thought it was the right thing to do, ya’know? So I won’t apologize for it.” You do your best to bite back another sob and say much more to yourself than to Sans’ blank door “I’m not going to apologize for it.  
"I just want you to know,” you start again, after steadying yourself, “whenever you’re ready to come out, or home, or whatever, that Papyrus really misses you. I, uhh,” you falter, “I guess I do too.”

The soft noises from Sans’ room resume and you take this as a sign. This conversation is over.

Before you can push yourself up, a yawn breaks free from your mouth. Today had taken a lot more out of you than you realized, even though it wasn’t even noon. Maybe you could just… close your eyes… only for a little while…

* * *

_Dummy, you shouldn’t sleep there._

“dummy, you shouldn’t sleep there.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AU's/Other Fics mentioned by Papyrus, in order of appearence. Underswap; Underfell (Already There by Voice_of_Mischief; Flowerfell au by Siviosanei - Specifically Overgrowth by SociopathicArchangel); Outertale; UT Mob by nyublackneko on tumblr; Core!Frisk; TemTale (talk about AU shitposting tbh...); Human AU; Reversetale (specifically, frisk is a monster, all others are human); And finally Underfresh!
> 
> I think I am going to call the idea this fic is based on (Each Reset goes back far enough that Firsk grows into a different person therefore Sans, Chara, and Flowey have no goddamned idea what to expect other than "determined as shit") AlternateTale. Because ??? Lazy. If you have any questions for what that means as a proper AU, instead of this reader insert garbage fic, please send me a message through tumblr @ Scary-Sans.tumblr.com
> 
> anyways, Festival time for drama is approaching and i spent 12 hours at school today, and we are still weeks out from festival so idk when the next chapter will be up.
> 
> (we're doing a comedy about pirates. The only comedy being done by the school this year. it's four murders and a comedy. about pirates.)


	22. Stuck

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the sidefic updated. some things were shown. and yes, the noise was indeed sans. kudos to those that guessed it.  
> anyways, this is where things start to get properly shippy. also, fair warning, as an aromantic, i have no goddamned clue how this romance thing works.

You wake up on the couch, with a blanket over you. This was not where you fell asleep, you are able to recall. Maybe - nah, it was definitely Paps. You’ve got to remember to thank him later, it’s so sweet how he’s looking after you now too. Although, it’s been just you and him for a full week now. Maybe he’s treating you like he does Sans so that he doesn’t get too lonely.

Well, whatever the reason for it, you still really should find a way to express your gratitude. Perhaps you should make something special for supper. What would be considered special enough for to count as a thank you, and still not be spaghetti. You’ve honestly had enough of spaghetti. But, you suppose, if he really wants it you could eat it for one more night.

Your thinking gets cut off by noises from the kitchen. It’s the telltale sign of Papyrus already being home. Just how long had you been asleep?

“Hey Paps,” you start as you make your way to the kitchen. “How was work?”

He stops rummaging through one of the cupboards to look at you. “It Went Very Well, Thank You For Asking! How Was Your Day, Friend?”

“It was fine, thank you.” You wander over and peek around him to see what he’s doing. “Whatcha’ got there?”

Papyrus nervously looks back at the small pile of random things that he’s pulled out. “I Am Not Sure. I Was Going To Start Cooking, But Nothing Seems Great Enough!”

In the pile there is: soup cans, crackers, some sort of gravy spices, a box of cereal, and a bag of flour. What the hell - Papyrus is supposed to be a chef. This little collection is _not_ very chef-like.

“How about I just make us some soup and grilled cheese sandwiches?” You suggest out of sympathy. He honestly does look like he’s floundering for ideas here. Not like you can blame him, though, who actually wants to spend the workday cooking, only to get home and cook some more?

Papyrus brightens almost immediately. “That Sounds Perfect, Friend. Although, How About I Make The Soup And You Make The Sandwiches?”

You nod and get to work. Sandwiches are easy, and you end getting enough supplies for a whole loaf’s worth, but at the same time, you have no idea how much Papyrus will eat. Or yourself for that matter, you're just cooking right now. It isn’t until you have the pan heating up that you notice Papyrus’ choice of soup: tomato.

_That’s a little weird, I would’ve thought he’d make chicken noodle._

_It’s a_ special _occasion._ Chara tells you, already bored with the happenings.

 _What?_ You have no idea what they mean. You don’t get the chance to ask for clarification though, because Papyrus sets a very large pot on one of the oven’s other burners. “Are you cooking for the whole town, there Paps?”

“No,” He leans down to you and whispers, “No, Sans is back!”

You jump back in surprise. Somehow you manage to keep hold of the stuff in your hands, but you do nearly drop it. “When did he get back?”

How are you still alive here? Sans should have kicked your ass into next week then. What the hell is going on?

Papyrus stays leaned down to you to answer. “I do believe he came back sometime today, perhaps while you were sleeping?”

At least you had been right, then, about the noises coming from his room actually being him. But if that is the case, Sans had likely come back sometime in the night.

“Please do not make a big out of it though.” Papyrus begs you. “He has done this before, and he is always very guilty. We do not need to make it any worse.”

He vanishes for a week and you’re just supposed to ignore it? Papyrus gives you the biggest pair of puppy-eyes you’ve ever seen. Perhaps you can ignore it for him. Besides, it would only make Sans more guilty, right? You stop and think about it for a moment. Alright, that makes sense. If you had done something like his weeklong disappearing act, you’d likely feel the same way. If anybody was acting even the slightest bit confrontational, you'd probably want to dissappear all over again. That's most likely what Papyrus is asking you _not_ to do. “Do you think I should make another sandwich then?”

Papyrus nyeh-heh-hehs quietly before telling you that maybe you should. The rest of dinner preparation goes by in comfortable silence. He does finish making his half of the meal before you do though.

“Don’t worry Paps,” you say as you put the last sandwich in the pan, “I’m almost done. You can go get Sans and I’ll grab some dishes.”

All this uncertainty and anxiousness about the shorter skeleton had aged you by years, but the grin Papyrus shoots you bring you right back to the true, youthful person you are. It's honestly rather refreshing to see someone so excitable and so responsible all in one. You chuckle a little as he runs off to retrieve his brother for supper, then grab down some bowls. 

There is quiet chatter coming from the other room as you start to dish out soup into the waiting bowls. It stops immediately when the boys round into the kitchen however and your gaze is drawn to them. There are a few things you notice right away. Firstly, Papyrus looks like he could fly himself to the moon and back running on pure happiness, and still have enough to do a few laps of the Underground. Secondly, Sans looks like a whole new skeleton.

Although, perhaps ‘new’ isn’t the best word for it. ‘New’ connotates ‘fresh’, ‘advanced’, ‘brand-spanking-new, like right off the fucking conveyor belt’. Sans is none of those things.

Instead of that, he looks _greasy_ , like he hasn’t showered once in the past week. You have no idea how a being made entirely of hard bones and magic can look like that, but somehow, he manages. Next you notice that he looks old. Not in a visible way, no, Sans just has this air around him that practically screams “I’ve seen more in my life than you can possibly even imagine.” and that’s terrifying. He didn’t look like that before you pulled your stunt with Asgore. The last thing you notice however, is that you can’t read his expression. At all. He’s got that automatic grin that looks like someone slapped it on there with glue, but you can’t make out any subtleties other than that. There is no squish of the sockets, no fluctuating brightness of the pupils, no slight up- or down-turns of his grin. It’s kind of looking at a statue of Sans.

You are _terrified_. Not knowing what he’s thinking or feeling could be the end of you. You still haven't forgotten that night out in front of the decorated tree where he had threatened you.

“kid?” The only thing you recognize in his voice is his using of his fake happy tone.

You squeak. “Sorry!” Sans takes a bowl of soup from you. “I hope the fact that it’s tomato makes up for being out of ketchup.”

Papyrus rushes around Sans to grab his own bowl. "I Made It Specifically For That Reason.” He gives you both a huge grin before grabbing himself a stray sandwich. “Also! We -” Papyrus points to himself and then to you, “- Are Going Shopping Tomorrow! If There Is Anything You Would Like, You Can Add It To The List On The Fridge.” With his part said, Papyrus strides out and away to the living room.

Sans nods a little stiffly as he watches his brother go.

You do your best to give him a pleasant smile before grabbing your own food and absconding to the living room. In your speed, you almost spill a drop or two of the red soup on the weirdly coloured carpet.

_Heh. Awwwkward._ Chara has decided that now is the perfect time to annoy you, apparently.  _Why are you so skittish? Damn Frisky B. He isn’t mad … well, not visibly at least._

_Yeah! That’s the problem!_ You take your seat on what was now basically your side of the couch, with Pap in the middle. _He isn’t_ anything _! I can’t read him at all! He’s got that thousand mile stare … I feel like he’s going to beat me the fuck up because I deserve it._

Chara sputters and calls you an idiot for thinking that.  _Sure you might deserve a stern talking to, but you don’t currently, or will_ ever _deserve physical harm._

_Hadn’t_ you _been threatening just that a few days ago?_ You shovel some soup into your mouth and Papyrus says something to Sans as he walks around the corner.

_I was_ joking.  They sound almost guilty.  _But I’m serious now. You. Don’t. Deserve. That._

Delicious, cheesy sandwiches enter your endless maw next. _Thanks, pal._

Sans gives you that blank stare, the one that makes you cringe in the deepest parts of your soul. _It means a lot._

* * *

Dinner passes without a hitch. Well, if by without a hitch you mean “passes in a totally awkward and mostly silent state”. Hell, even Papyrus was beginning to look uncomfortable and he _never_ does that. Currently though, you were in the kitchen doing the dishes while Papyrus does something in his room and Sans takes a much needed shower. The familiar action is comforting enough that maybe you’ll be able to sit down and have a grownup conversation with Sans later, about what you’ve done.

Papyrus shouts something without warning and you jump a mile high.

 

_Heh, yeah scratch that. There will be no comfortable involved at all here._

_But I can’t just_ avoid _talking to him. Even if Sans wasn’t the one who had welcomed me into his home, he’s the only other one who properly remembers the_ **unsaved** _time. He deserves an explanation for why it went back. No matter how angry he may be or how scared I am._

 

You focus again on the dishes. Just get this done, and then you can do anything else. Maybe even get the dreaded “This is why I killed myself” conversation out of the way. Your hands shake a little as you vigorously scrub a plate. _The Dishes_ . You need to focus on something else right now, so focus on _the dishes_. The occasional noise is still heard from elsewhere in the house, and you still stray back to your anxious thoughts, but eventually the dishes are finished.

Just as you are finishing putting things away, Papyrus comes in to grab his before-bed snack. Looks like you _had_ been focusing pretty hard, if it is that late already. While he grabs something small from a cupboard, Papyrus offhandedly mentions that he would like you to tell him another story tonight.

“Are you sure?” You ask, confused. “I thought that since Sans is home, you would want him to do that.”

“Well, That Is Not Wrong, Friend, But I Want Him To Hear One Of Your Stories Too! They Are Very Interesting And New And I Think He Would Enjoy Being Able To Hear One.” Papyrus says in between bites.

You’re a little shocked. They hadn’t been anything near good, they were just silly retellings of Disney movies. Besides, have Sans listening as well?

“You Don’t Have To, It Is," He pauses to pop the last bite into his mouth. "Entirely Your Choice.” Papyrus brushes off any crumbs and starts to walk back to his room.

“Wait, wait.” You set down the cloth you had been drying with and chase after him for a step. “Of course I’ll tell you a story if that’s what you want.”

Papyrus stops mid step and sprints back to you. “OH THANK YOU, FRIEND!” You are picked up in a very boney, but excited hug. Feet off the ground, being swung slightly sort of hug. It makes whatever Sans is going to say/do to you later worth it. Papyrus is so happy that he doesn’t put you down either. Instead, you are carried gently from the living room, up the stairs, past Sans in the hall, and into Papyrus’ room where you are set down gently on his bed.

“Do either of you have any requests?” You ask, leaning back against the wall and pretending to be comfortable.

Sans gives you a blank stare. No, that’s not right, you think to yourself. He’s not blank per say, there is emotion there - just manufactured ones. They bar you from seeing what he’s really feeling, in the most annoying way possible. On the other hand though, Papyrus runs around with his heart on his sleeve using only theatrical levels of emotion. “I Would Like To Hear The One About The Lions Again!!! Please, Oh Please Tell That One Friend!!!”

“Alright, the Lion King it is.” You lean back and let everyone get comfortable before you start your tale. You’re nearly finished when you notice that both skeletons are asleep. Not that that surprises you, however. Sans falls asleep enough that you wonder if he would be considered narcoleptic by human standards, and all Papyrus needs to fall asleep is a bit of white noise.

While they both sit there snoring gently, you worm your way off of Papyrus’ bed. For someone who is usually so neat, he’s a really messy sleeper and it takes you a good minute to get out without waking anyone. Once you get to the hallway, you sigh a little to yourself. The house is quiet and safe, but you really should be going soon.

Now that Sans is back, there isn’t anything stopping you. Besides, now you _know_ you have to follow a lot closer to what the notebook says. That means facing Undyne in waterfall for some sort of race thing. You’ve already got plans tomorrow and you’d prefer to be well rested before meeting her to run for your life, so the day after will have to do. And there’s no reason to be sad about it. Chara has made it very _very_ clear to you that you have to make it out alive so as to also help the monsters aboveground, which means that you aren’t saying goodbye to the brothers. It’s more of a day trip, really. One where you’ll be fighting a super aggressive fish lady, but a day trip none the less.

Besides, what all do you need other than a raincoat and some waterproof shoes? Perhaps a good flashlight? You’ve seen Waterfall, you know what to expect now. It should be a piece of cake. Just leave anything that can get wrecked by water someplace safe, then go through. As long as you follow the proper path, instead of trying to be some self sacrificing hero, you’d be fine.

That’s what you repeat to yourself as you return to the couch for some much needed rest - you’ll be fine. It’s been a long, stressful day, but you managed to get through it - you’ll be fine.

“you seem to be managing pretty well so far, kid. of course you’ll be fine.”

You nearly scream, thank god you don’t, but you nearly do. You’re clutching your chest when you remove yourself from the hunched over position fear had worked yourself into. “Can you seriously _not_ do that, next time?”

Sans chuckles lightly before meeting you at the bottom of the stairs. You’re pretty sure that that’s the first example of real emotion he’s shown at all since he returned. “sorry kid. didn’t mean to rattle your _bones_ like that.”

“It’s alright.” You wheeze and flop onto the couch. “Just wasn’t expecting it.”

“so i’ve been meaning to ask you …” Sans doesn’t sit beside you, electing to stand near the wall. That doesn’t bode well for his intentions with this conversation, you think to yourself.

In fact, because of it, you’re beginning to freak out a little.

“what were you thinking?”

"When?" You gulp fearfully.

"you know when."

“I-I wasn’t?”

_Calm down. He doesn’t look aggressive._

“ _tibia_ honest, we both know that’s a fucking lie.”

“But...”

_Don’t._

“all i want from you is the truth. no matter what it is, i want to know.”

“You _just_ want to know what happened? I … I suppose I could tell you that.”

_Good, give him what he wants, Frisk._

“so, are you going to explain it?”

“I don’t have much of a choice do I.”

_You’re an idiot and he’s an asshole but you won’t hurt each other. You’ll be fine, you dummy._

“you always have a choice.”

“Well, then I choose, to be honest.”

Chara whispers into your ears -  _You’ll be fine. You’ll be fine._ _-_ and the comforting scent of flowers surrounds you.

“that’s a good idea, kiddo.” Sans finally comes to sit beside you and you’re pleasantly surprised to see that you can read some emotion in his face. He may not look happy, but at least he looks _real._

“You know how it all started with Undyne, right?” You lean back into the cushions a little. “Well that’s true. But it also starts with a lot of personal issues, especially with self-worth. I guess I really took it to heart when she said I wasn’t doing enough.”

_Don’t stop there, Frisky._

“you know, i can’t actually remember what she said. guess my focus was on something else.” Sans winks and shrugs at you, like he isn’t talking about you literally died in his arms.

“Well, it wasn’t anything nice. But I’m pretty sure you coulda guessed that. Anyways, I guess those both kinda mixed together to let me convince myself that just giving up was the proper way out.”

_You’re too determined for that to have worked anyways._

“heh, i guess you’re right. i tried that once too - giving up and all. didn’t turn out well for me either.”

“And that’s all there is too it, I guess. I mean, some parts of me are still upset that it didn’t work; everything would have been so much easier if it had. I-It didn’t though, and here we are.” You sigh and stare down at your hands. They aren’t shaking anymore. It’s a sign that you’re feeling a bit better.

You think about it for a moment and, you _do_ feel better after being able to properly tell him what happened. Plus, Sans doesn’t look quite so blank. In fact, he looks almost sympathetic - a real emotion! You find that you don’t mind his pity/sympathy much. “We may still be stuck here, but that won’t be for long. As long as I follow along with how it’s _supposed_ to go, nothing should go wrong.”

Sans gives you a strange look, when you finally turn back to him. You just smile. As much as you hadn’t wanted to talk about it, and how tired you are now after doing so, you feel better. On top of that, Sans _hadn’t_ done anything you that you feared he would, instead he just sat there and listened. It was … it was honestly pretty nice of him. Perhaps a little out of his character, but nice nonetheless. Wherever Sans went for the past week, you hope he got what he wanted from it.

Before your thoughts can go too far and distract you though, a yawn cuts through and disrupts your train of thought. Jeez, you are going to be sleeping _really_ well tonight.

“ _bone_ tired, huh? you really should be taking better care of yourself there, kiddo.” Sans grins as he teases you. For a moment, it’s almost like the past week never happened.

“Sure, whatever you say, bone boy.” You tease him back. “ _Talus_ , did _you_ take care of yourself while you were gone?”

“heh okay, got me there.” For the first time this conversation, perhaps the first all day, Sans looks pleasant; content. The slapstick grin looks real for once, or at least as close as it can get on Sans. You decide (not for the first time either) that you like his real smile. In fact, you might even consider it handsom-

_Uh._ Chara starts, cutting off your frankly unwelcome thoughts.  _What are you doing there, Frisky B?_

_Nothing!_ You whisper back, perhaps a bit too quickly. Getting caught had, for a moment, lit your cheeks with a rosy glow. Chara huffs at you, but the scent of flowers that had suddenly marked their arrival, fades just as fast. As soon as they leave, you sneak a peek at Sans, noticing the like blue glow across his cheeks. You aren’t one hundred percent sure what that is (and you’re being very stubborn about avoiding all thoughts on what it _might_ just be), but it’s cute - you’ve decided. He’s pointedly looking away from you now, but that cerulean shade is pretty enough that you have to stare for a moment longer.

“uhm,” Sans clears his throat “it’s getting pretty late, huh. i’ll leave you to sleep. goodnight kid.” He doesn’t wait for you to respond before getting up and leaving to his own room. In fact, he doesn’t even look at you while he walks away. This doesn’t stop you from being able to see a blushy grin that’s barely there as he runs away.

“Goodnight.” You say happily, faintly to the now empty room.

It doesn’t say anything back, but it feels a little like home nonetheless.

* * *

As had apparently, annoyingly, became your new normal, Papyrus wakes you when he gets up. Today was his turn to make breakfast though, so you take a nice shower while he cooks. Sans doesn’t get up until long after you’ve both eaten, though Paps insists on saving a plate for the elder brother. In fact, he’s just leaving his room while you and Paps are gathering your gear to go shopping.

“We Will Be Back Later, Brother!” Papyrus yells up as he makes sure his scarf is secure.

“I need to pick up a few things myself too,” you zip your jacket up to your chin. “so I might be a few minutes later than you, Paps.”

“Oh. Alright Friend!” He grins at you and then turns back to Sans at the top of the stairs. “I Will Be Back Soon, And They Will Be Back A Little Later! Goodbye Brother! Have A Good Day!” Papyrus turns on his heel and throws open the door. You give a nervous smile to Sans, wish a quiet goodbye to Chara (who is stuck with their soul, which is staying at home) and then rush out the door after him.

It’s windy and cold outside, which should have been expected in a place called “Snowdin”, but you’re immensely grateful for Papyrus leading the way. It lets you focus a lot more on staying warm. Each person you pass waves to you both, and Papyrus calls out a happy “Good Morning Neighbour!” to them. It strikes you that for all the time you’ve been here, you haven’t really interacted with any other people here. Huh. Perhaps you should do that more.

The walk goes by fast, and you find that Paps’ good mood is more infectious than usual, and a content smile has plastered itself to your face. The warm relief from entering the store also helps your cheery mood. Shopping goes quickly, you’ve always been one to stick to a list and Papyrus is more than willing to run off and grab things for you. All the monsters you pass say hello and wish you a good day, to which you do the same. It’s nice here, you think. Everyone is so caring to each other. Chara’s comment of how Monsters are made of love echos a few times in your mind, and you’ve never felt that it is truer.

“Friend! I Have Retrieved Everything That Is On The List. Is There Anything Else That You Need?” Papyrus comes practically sprinting down an aisle.

“No, no. I’m fine.” You laugh a little at his antics while you speak. “If that’s everything, it’s time to check out, I suppose. I’ll help you carry it all home before going off to buy the things I need.”

“No Need, Friend! I,” he pauses to strike a pose, “The Great Papyrus, Can Carry It All Easily.”

Much to your disbelief and mild amusement, he manages just that. Papyrus waves you off with a snowy grin and bag filled hands. “Enjoy Your Shopping, Friend!”

The store you are headed towards isn’t very far away, you and Chara found it rather easily after first coming to Snowdin. It’s actually the one attached to the Inn you had first stayed in, owned by one if the Rabbit monsters. The owner was ridiculously nice, and most of her products looked to be well priced for their quality level. Besides, she had given you a discount on those cinnamon bunnies you bought your first night here. You feel a little like you owe her your business now.

The feeling of warm air hits you like a brick wall when you enter the shop. You call out a cheery “Hello!” as the little entry bell jingles.

“Oh, hello.” She gives a polite wave from behind the counter. “Wasn’t expecting to see you again, thought you were just a tourist passing through.”

“Nope! I’m staying with the Skeleton brothers for now, but I guess I haven’t been to social with my new neighbours, huh. Uh,” you stumble over your words for a moment. “anyways, not a tourist!”

“You’re staying with those two? Must be pretty interesting.” She tilts her head and thinks for a moment while you wander an aisle looking for the things you came to buy. “Would you like a bit of direction there?”

“Uh, sure. I’m looking for rain gear? I saw some the last time I was here, and I’m going to be in Waterfall for the next few days. Thought it might be helpful to have proper rain boots and jacket.” You shrug, you were just trying to be prepared is all.

“Third aisle, near the end.” She says with a smile before going back to something under the counter.

The rain gear is right where the vendor said, and although there isn’t very much selection, you manage to find something in your size. Dark grey boots that go up to about mid calf, and a light blue jacket with faint purple accents. Although they might not be something you’d normally choose, they fit well and won’t break the bank. You carry them to the front counter with a smile, proud of having found what you needed.

You share more idle chit chat with the bunny vendor (whose name you learn is Penny) before you pay for your wares (only 125 gold) before braving the cold again. The walk home is quiet, there’s no Chara or Papyrus to fill the empty air, but you find that you don’t mind much. The monsters you pass still smile and wave, although they seem much more reserved when it is just you. The sound of the wind and your feet in the snow is all you can really hear. It’s been awhile since you last had a chance to truly be by yourself. It’s rather nice, even if you do end up a little bored on your way back.

 

Sans greets you when you return with a half awake mumble that you can’t make any words out of. You give that a little laugh before depositing your new belongings on top of your bag right beside the couch.  _He’s been this annoying all day._

_He’s_ sleeping _? How is that annoying, C?_ Sans gives you a dopey, pleased grin when you join him on the couch, sleep obviously doing it’s best to reclaim him. After a ridiculously long moment, he gives in, though that smile stays.

_Just_ existing _is annoying for him._ Chara huffs in that adorably petulant way.

 _Yes, I’m sure._ You laugh a little more to yourself. It may not have been a long day, but this little piece of familiarity is a huge comfort. You allow yourself a moment to just lean back, and sit peacefully. Just one second, you tell yourself, just one second and then you’ll get up and do something.

Just one second.

* * *

The feeling of freefalling wakes you up. The first coherent thought you manage is “ _No dreams._ ” and the second is “ _What was that?_ ” You rub your eyes open and find the answer to your question just standing there.

“uh, sorry. didn’t mean to wake you.” Sans is standing a few feet away from the couch, one hand glowing a pretty cyan that lights up the room. It takes your sleep addled brain a moment to realize that Sans is both a few feet away horizontally, and _vertically_. You look below yourself to see empty space - you’re floating. “yeah, sorry about that too.” He lets you down gently, and the blanket that’s still draped around you is pulled tighter by his magic. “i was stuck between a human and a hard place.”

You stare at him dumbly for a moment before trying to pull the blanket up more. It’s a little colder than you remember, though you don’t have a good frame of reference. It isn’t like you were tangled up with him, right?

 

_Right?_

 

“it’s pretty late kid. not that i give a _sheet_ eitther way, but i think you’d best go back to sleep.” Sans chuckles a little at his own joke (though you’re pretty sure you laughed a little too), then gives you an expectant look.

 

_More sleep, that sounds pretty nice._

 

You back nod to him, moving to lie down fully. There is a moment of still silence before you can feel the blanket being tucked around you a little tighter and then that pretty blue glow fades away. For all that this exchange was nearly totally one-sided, and you’re barely coherent enough to register it, you feel a lightness in your heart when you close your eyes.

* * *

It’s barely the ass-crack of dawn when you wake up. Not that you can see the dawn, it’s just a feeling you get. Papyrus is just beginning to wake up, you can hear him rummaging around in his room. Well, it _is_ your turn to make breakfast anyways. You decide to just make pancakes, a good old classic, on this, the most important of days. All that extra rest must have really put you in a good mood, you think.

You even sprinkle in some chocolate chips, a true sign of how important this breakfast is. Chara tells you that although your sentiment is silly ( _idiotic and a waste_ ), they respect your choice of ingredients.

Papyrus comes down while you’re pouring batter and immediately runs away. He is in such a rush that you almost worry for a second that you’ve offended him somehow. It isn't until you hear a cacophony of voices - well just two really, one that is going on about how “A Truly Spectacular Breakfast Is Being Prepared So You Need To Wake Up Right This Instance, Sans!” and another begging to return to sleep - do you calm down. Papyrus comes barrelling in moments later and demands to know just how much longer it will be before he can eat your delicious breakfast meal.

“bro, you know that asking is just distracting them?” You spin around and lock eyes with Sans. When had he…? “besides, you can probably just have from that finished plate there.” He watches you with expectant eyes.

“Uh, sure, yeah. There’s only a few already done but you can have those, Paps.” You reach out to pass the plate to him and Papyrus takes it greedily. Everything is quiet for a moment while you and Sans just watch Paps devour the pancakes. “The next batch will take a few minutes, but those are yours Sans.”

“thanks.” He says as you flip them. “i suppose i have worked up a bit of an appetite.”

“Doing What, Brother?” Papyrus stops shoveling food into his gaping maw long enough to speak. “All You’ve Done So Far Is Sleep!”

“well bro, i’m _bone_ tired. must’ve managed that somehow.” The moment those words are out of his mouth, Sans sighs to himself. “ugh, it is too early to be making puns.”

“I hardly think that that counted as a pun, Sans,” you say with a smile.

He just groans and starts to droop in his chair “you’re a human, what do you know?” All strength of body seems to leave him a moment later, because you watch as his head falls to the table and he does nothing.

“Apparently, how to make the best chocolate chip pancakes in existence, if your brother is any indication.” You say teasingly. Another plateful gets set onto the table, up for grabs.

Sans rotates his head, still on the table, to look at Papyrus. It takes a second for Paps to realize that his brother wants confirmation, before he gives it - wholeheartedly.

“Sans If You Would Just Wake Up Enough To Try One Bite, You Would See How Right I Am!” Papyrus sits up straighter and closes his eyes, poised to give a good lecture. “The Human Is Certainly Just As Great As I Am At Making Breakfast, Or At Least Very Close!”

Sans grumbles at his brother before rotating his head the other way, to face you, and lazily shoving one whole pancake into his mouth. Completely dry. While making extraordinarily awkward eye contact with you. You and Papyrus watch in stunned silence as he chews slowly. Then after a moment, his eyes widen and cheeks flush a little.

He still hasn’t broken the eye contact.

“See Brother? Delicious.” With that, Papyrus goes back to stuffing his face and Sans lifts himself off the table to pile some onto a plate of his own.

You laugh and go back to cooking, trying to get that stunned face that’s usually so sure out of your head.

* * *

After all of breakfast has been cooked, eaten and put away, you begin the final preparation for your departure. Your backpack sits open on the couch, it’s contents spilled across the cushions.

_Okay, I let you have your sappy breakfast, so let’s kick it into high gear._

_Almost ready to go, just need to deposit some things that I don’t want to get ruined by the water._ Chara _had_ let you have that nice breakfast without even so much as a peep. You do your best to pick up the pace, as a thank you.

While you sort out the clothes, grabbing a pair of socks and shoving it in your bag, Chara starts again.  _If this is just another excuse, I will make sure you never get a moment’s rest ever again._

_I promise it isn't, you big baby. I just don’t want to accidentally ruin anything by bringing it with us._ You remove your cellphone(s) from the side pocket, and set them on the side table. Despite there not being a drawer or anything on it, you’re pretty sure that there is enough space for you to be able to store your other stuff underneath it. _Besides, are you that excited to go have our asses kicked by Undyne again?_

_Well,_ You fold the clothes you have left and put them under the table, then your notebook and other items on top.  _It wouldn’t be_ my _ass getting kicked. Just yours._

All the other essential items are put back in your bag - a few snacks, some more extra socks, and the flashlight you found in a side pocket sometime last week. _And that makes it all better?_

_Yup._ Chara’s words are practically dripping with self-satisfaction.

 _Well, that’s everything I guess._ You pick yourself up and wander to the kitchen, looking for either brother. Neither are there, but you suppose that it’s for the best. If either of them asked you not to go, you just might listen.

“Sans! Papyrus!” You call out to the house. Both bedroom doors open audibly as you lean back into the livingroom.

“what are you doing, kid?” You can hear Sans start shuffling around his door and you _really_ hope he isn’t going to try and stop you. You really hope he doesn’t think you’re leaving for good either.

Papyrus peeks out and begins to step down the stairs. “Yes, Friend, Where are you Going?”

“Out, for a little while.” You walk to the main entryway and begin to pull on your boots. Across the room, Sans joins Papyrus on the staircase, though the latter stays static at the top while the former comes down to the landing.

_Why are you drawing this out, let’s just go already!_

_Not quite yet. Let me have this._

“I’ve got to start making some progress at sometime.” The new rubber boots fit like a glove and you pull your new raincoat on before grabbing your backpack and giving Sans a well meaning look. “I’m never going to be able to show you the stars if I laze around here forever… Papyrus?” You call, flashing the brightest smile you can.

The stairs creak for a moment and then Papyrus joins you and Sans in the living room. “What Do You Need, Friend?”

“I think I’m in the mood for spaghetti tonight.” You say with a wink towards your friends. Chara makes a disgusted noise at how amicable you’re being, which you ignore in favour of leaving the skeleton household. A light snow-filled breeze whips around your feet. “Plenty of meatballs, too, okay?” The sound of the wind is mixed with elated squealing from Papyrus.

 

The thought of a wonderful Papyrus-classic supper waiting for you when you go home tonight, fills you with **determination**.

 

_Your game has been_ **saved** _, so let’s go._

_Let’s._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so it turns out im pretty bad at writing both filler and slice of life. this was pretty painful to dredge through, if im honest, but it's done now and thats pretty ok.
> 
> Also, I got chased by a cow yesterday. there were some things that happened leaing up to it but it all boils down to an idiot dog, a cute calfie, and some very good but unheeded advice.


	23. Smells like a Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to Waterfall, on your left you can see rocks and on your right you can see water. Straight ahead? Well straight ahead you can see a twisted and mangled body.
> 
> there is some frankly stupid shit in this chapter. On one hand im totally sorry, but on the other, that is the actual process I went through when writing this.

The ground is a little squishy, you notice. It’s still solid of course, but there is obviously too much water in it. Each step sends out a little squirt of rainwater. You are quite happy with your decision to purchase rain boots before coming here.

The raincoat has come in handy too, although not in as big a way as you expected. For a place that constantly sounds of rainfall, there is very little actual rain falling. No, it's more working as a windbreaker and it’s doing a pretty good job of taking out the bite of the wind.

Just like what you saw when you were on that river ride with Undyne, it’s beautiful in Waterfall. The glowing azure flora, the dark water and the strange reflections the light here casts on it, and especially the strange gems that appear to be stuck in the walls. They glow softly in pale colours, and as much as you suppose this would creep you out in any normal circumstance, you feel strangely at ease. Perhaps because you know the only threat to you here is Undyne, and you can make it past her, alive, anyways? There is no real harm in anything here. Or perhaps it’s just the fact that Chara’s overpowering scent of flowers is comforting you every step of the way.

You’ve been walking for a short while when you notice a small wooden stand. It looks fairly familiar. In fact - _C?_

 _ What. _ They fade into existence a little in front of you at shoulder height floating on their stomach lazily.

“That is Sans’ stand from outside Snowdin.” You say, surprised.

“Yeah, of course. Do you really think he would have different stands for each place he has to work?” He works out in Waterfall too?

“Uh, a little. Though I wasn’t expecting him to work out here in Waterfall too.” You’re almost to the stand now, enough so that you can see it is almost an exact copy of the Snowdin version.

Even down to the snow on the roof of it.

You want to ask why there is snow on it, and all that the snow entails, but Chara cuts you off.

“Magic.”

You sputter. “I hadn’t even said anything!”

“Well,” they turn back to you and make a face. “You were going to. I _know_ you Frisky B. You can’t hide fuck all from me.” They sit up and drop to the ground with a thud. “Besides, it’s exactly what he would say if he was here too.”

You walk step in step to the patrol station, and both lean over the counter to look inside. Just like in Snowdin, there is a myriad of old bottles of ketchup. _Disgusting._ “So where to next?”

“Well that’s up to you, B.” They push back and walk a bit past the station, stopping at a box. “Do you have anything that you want to put in here?”

“Uhm, probably not?” You call back to them. Why would you want to put anything inside a box? The question intrigues you enough to leave the station in favor of their company.

Chara lifts the lid on the box and pull out a pair of gloves ... _What_?

“What?” You brush past a bright blue flower on your way to inspect the gloves.

The flower shudders for a moment before “What?” It asks, in your voice, pitched a little higher.

“What??” You turn back to the flower.

“What??” It does it again.

“Frisk, chillax. That’s an echo flower.” Chara decides to have mercy on you, and comes back beside you. They reach out and, after a moment of concentration, grab the flower and lean into it. You watch their mouth move, but whatever they say is far too quiet for you to make out. Once they’ve finished, Chara lets go of the flower and leans back beside you. With a nod of the head, they encourage you to lean into the flower.

Once you do, you can hear a slightly pitched up version of Chara’s voice whisper to you. “They repeat the last thing that they’ve heard.”

“Oh.” That makes sense, magically, you suppose.

“Oh.” It says back to you.

“Yeah, Ree and I used to do all sorts of things with them.” Chara turns away and you get the feeling that if you could see their eyes, they would have a thousand mile stare.

You have no idea who this ‘Ree’ is, but you suppose it must be someone important.

“You know, we got sick here once, Ree and I. We had gotten lost in Snowdin forest and somehow, managed to make our way to Waterfall. When Mom and Dad found us, we were so, so sick. It was gross.”

Chara’s mouth quirks and you can hear them make a gagging noise. Even grosser.

 

_Is Ree a sibling? There were other humans here? What happened to them? Whe -_

 

“Don’t.” You are cut off.

“What?” You straighten and step back from Chara who is still crouching.

“Look,” they stay facing the flower, “you’ve done a lot. You’re good, Frisky. Good enough to even be considered ... ugh, I _really_ don’t want to say this, but Frisky you might even be a friend.” They hunker down even further into the ground, like the dirt can swallow them up from saying these embarrassing things. “You don’t ever get to say that though and _I’m_ never going to say it again. So …”

You rush down to sit beside them. In the back of your mind, you register the fact that they want to talk about this ‘Ree’ a lot less than they want to admit to liking you. “I’m a friend? Chara? I’m your friend?” You wiggle your eyebrows at them.

Chara does their best to ignore you.

You wiggle those brows even harder.

“Yes!” They practically shriek, and the flowers turn a cherry red. “Sure! Whatever! You’re an asshole anyways so I guess that we’ll be the BEST of Friends! You know how I like Assholes! Just _Stop_ _Talking_ Frisky B!”

“Well,” you turn away from them and back towards the flower. “I _suppose_ that that would be okay, but only on one condition.”

Chara’s mouth turns down in contempt and their flowers go from cherry to blood. “What.”

“I think it’s about time to drop the “Frisk” and stick to “Business”. So, if you continue to refuse to use my real name, at least use one I don’t mind.” You give a wink while you say it. Chara straightens again and goes back to the box.  

“There’s no way that you’re just ‘ _business’_ there Frisky,” They call over their shoulder. “I’ve seen the way you’ve been looking at the trashbag.”

You have _not_ been looking at Sans in the way they are insinuating.

“Rude!” You say as you chase after them. “That was rude!”

“Fair enough,” they shrug, “but tell me I’m wrong.” Their flowers are golden again, an obvious indicator of just how much they are getting a kick out of your distress.

You _hadn’t_ been doing that, right?

 

_Right?_

 

You decide to ignore Chara, because that fixes every single problem you’ve ever had ever, and read the sign beside the box.

“ _This is a_ **_box_ ** _. You can put an_ **_item_ ** _in or take an_ **_item_ ** _out. Why would you though??? You can’t use_ **_items_ ** _when they’re in the_ **_box_ ** _! Sincerely, a_ **_box_ ** _hater._ ”

 

 _Why would anyone hate boxes though? That’s so silly_.

 

You look out beyond it and into the first section of water. Past a curve in the wall, there is the rush of water indicating a waterfall, and to the other side there is a drop. You’re pretty sure there is another fall there as well.

At least the terrain is aptly named.

Chara raises themself an inch or two above the ground, but they continue to walk with you. After a few steps, you both reach the water and stop. It looks deep enough that your boots probably aren’t going to cut it.

“Should I keep them on?” You ask. “Do you think there is anything sharp at the bottom?”

“I honestly have no clue.” Chara responds. “Like I said, the only time I was ever in Waterfall I got super sick and spent the whole time delirious. To top it all off, all of my memories from other timelines get a little fuzzy here. It’s super shitty.”

 

_Helpful, as always._

 

SIghing, you slip a single foot in, still wearing the boots. The footwear goes up to mid calf, and the water is a little above knee height. “ _This_ is super shitty.” The water feels gross and cold as it fills up your boot. They laugh a little at your bad position.

 

_Uggggghhhh ew._

 

You slide the second boot into the water, foot lodged firmly inside it. This one feels just as gross as the first one. Chara sits down (theoretically speaking) and watches you, amused, as you slosh around in overfull boots. You’re about halfway across when Chara stops you with a clearing of their throat and points to the source of the water.

“There’s something in there,” they pull out a golden yellow flower and begin toying with it. “I can’t remember what exactly, so be on your guard.”

With a nod and barely concealed disgust you realign yourself and keep slogging through the water. It was cold when you first got in, but now it seems to be at a comfortable temperature. You’re pretty sure that you’re going to be sick once you’ve finished all this. You even sneeze once, in sympathy for your future self.

 

_Gross._

 

The rushing water starts moving faster the closer you get to the falls on this side. It makes it hell to get to the falls, let alone go past them. Eventually you do manage, but you remember the not-soaked things in your bag that you would prefer to stay that way.

“Chara, can you hold this?” You remove your backpack and hold it out to them. “Just for a moment, I don’t want to get it all wet going through _that._ ”

They follow your pointed nod to the downfall, pausing long enough to snicker at how wet everything else about you was getting. “Just be quick. I can’t fake corporealness for too long.”

You breath out a word of thanks before taking a comedically deep breath and attempting to push your way through the falls. The downward force of the water is both as hard as you expected, and way harder than anything you’ve ever felt before. It very nearly knocks the wind out of your lungs.

For a moment you wonder if you will actually make it through at all before the weight of the water and the unstable nature of your footing knock you down forward.

“Have a nice _trip_ , there B?” Chara calls out to you, barely heard over the sound of the water. You flush for a moment at the sound of them using a name you’ve chosen. For all that Chara is a total brat, you’re quite glad that they are on your side in this.

“Fuck you Chara!” You call back, goodnaturedly. Over the water, you can just barely make out the sound of their laughter.

Now that you are past the falls and on dry(ish) land, your boots feel even worse. It’s terribly gross and you get the feeling that your feet will be nothing but blisters once your done. You take a good look around the room, yes it is just a room behind the falls, and decide that this is something out of every adventure movie ever. At least in basis, you’re a little uncertain on whether every adventure movie ever would have an inky navy room with several sets of glowing mushrooms that give weird underlighting and a faded pink tutu in them.

Speaking of, the tutu looks small, like it was meant for a child, and there appears to be a layer of dust there nearly as thick as your pinky nail is tall. It’s fairly gross, and, once you stop to think about it, rather sad. On one hand, how did it get here? And on the other, why was it left?

 

_Do monsters even know what ballerinas are? I mean, they have a pretty broad knowledge of a lot of things, but it doesn’t seem to indepth for most topics. If I asked, would they know the significance of a tutu, what it was used for, the things like that?_

 

You decide to leave it alone, and just ask Chara when you return to them. Before you can exit the tiny room (and subject yourself to that terrible stream of water), you notice a small black puddle around the base of one of the mushrooms. It’s interesting enough that you lean down to inspect it, and then you remember what that black goo means.

It’s that shit that is stuck to the few pieces of Chara’s soul that you have collected.

 

_Which, I still have no idea how that works. Ghost with physical attachments, or living soul without a physical body that’s like astral projecting._

_…_

_I really should ask._

 

You crouch down to the ground and carefully begin to dig the dirt away from the mushroom. It only takes a few moments and then you have another piece of red soul dripping black goo. The others are in the side pocket of your bag, so for now you just shove this one into your pants pocket and hope that it doesn’t fall out into the river. One last look around the tiny alcove, taking in the weird glowing mushrooms and the strangely encompassing blackness where the light doesn’t reach, and you turn around to push through the water.

This time you knew what to expect and how to get past it. Thankfully, you manage to stay upright, although you are totally and completely soaked by the time you’re face to face with Chara again.

“Took you long enough.” They grumble when you grab back your backpack to allow them to go back to their incorporeal state.

You nearly laugh at the sigh of relief they let out.

 

 _Is staying physical_ that _much of a struggle for them?_

 

You decide to wait to show the new soul shard until you’ve reached solid ground. The rubber boots are yet again full of water and terribly heavy as you slowly make your way to the distant shore.

What you’re pretty sure should have taken you a few short minutes ends up feeling like an hour at least of walking. Once you’ve reached solid ground again you fall dramatically down to the dirt. You’re pretty sure that it is going to stick to your wet _everything_ , but you decide that it is worth it to rest for a moment.

“Chara, do I need to go through water like this again?” You mumble with your cheek still attached firmly to the ground.

They give you a look, one that’s a little hard to decipher because of the lack of eye contact, but you’re pretty sure it’s something like fond delight. “I might just say ‘no’ so that I can enjoy the face you make.” You respond with a raspberry blown in their direction.

You decide that it’s worth it to use your change of socks now. Dealing with blisters before this supposed marathon sounds, quite frankly, like a terrible idea. Besides, even though your jacket was able to take off the bite of the wind earlier, now that you are soaked to the bone it was doing nothing.

In what you’re pretty sure you’ll later think of as a ‘lapse in judgement’, you strip off the boots, wet socks, and your jacket. You wring out the latter two as much as possible before getting your dry socks out and putting them on, along with the boots. The insides are a little damp still, but you hope that it’s better than nothing. Next you stuff the pockets of your jacket with your soaking belongings and then tie the whole bundle to the outside of your backpack. Chara stops paying attention around this time, you notice, probably bored with the goings on. Before you do start walking again, you manage to remember the little shard you have tucked away and pull it out.

Just like before, in the alcove behind the falls, and before in each other case, it is tiny, opaque, with the consistency of jelly covered in plastic wrap, and it is slowly extruding a slimy black substance that is more seen than felt. You feel the need to be extra careful with it, but Chara has insisted time and time again that there isn’t anything your puny human hands can do to harm it. Souls are magic and can therefore only be affected by magic. You are not magic. In any case, you bring out the new shard and the other piece, which appears to be the bottom half of the heart shaped soul. As soon as you bring the two pieces near, they rush together like a set of magnets. Once that has happened, like always, any lines between them fade enough that you can’t make it out in the gaps of the black goo and the new piece is secured to the others.

“Oh cool. You’ve found nearly half of me. Impressive, B.” You’re pretty sure that last half is sarcasm, but it’s so much easier to take them face value.

Besides, “Aww, no problem C! I’m always happy to help a pal!” You give them the brightest smile. The glower you receive is well worth it.

 

The dirt under your feet is still a little softer than you would prefer, you keep wondering if you’re going to misstep and roll an ankle. That, quite honestly, suck. You still have to do all that running later.

It’s rather weird, you think, that you’re feeling so blase about everything. On the one hand, you keep telling yourself that you should be more worried, or stressed, or _something_ about it, but on the other, you know deep in your soul that it will all be fine in the end. You put in a little work, the timeline’s attempts to correct itself will balance out the rest. Either way, you’re just happy that you haven’t psyched yourself out too much to be able to do this.

But really, shouldn’t you be worried that you’ll probably die at least once in the process? Isn’t that a thing that people should worry about? You don’t really know how you feel on the issue, and the issue itself is so new you don’t know how you’re _supposed_ to feel about it. For now though, you force yourself to pay more attention to the area around you instead of what’s going on in your head.

As you keep going, you keep your eye on the water. For some reason, you can’t stop looking at it. It reminds you of something. Every time you look over to it, you keep expecting to to see a big giant whale, but there has been nothing in the water yet and you have no idea why you’re thinking like that.

“Ok, I’m not going to lie, it’s really weird that you keep doing that,” Chara says offhandedly from their position floating behind you. The word “lie” sticks out to you.

 

_Lie. Lie. Lielielielielie._

 

You watch the water while repeating it to yourself. Then it hits you.

“Pinocchio!” You shout.

“Bless you,” Chara says without missing a beat.

You glare at them for a moment. “No, that’s what the water is reminding me of! The water in Pinocchio! It looks just as dark and weirdly lit as this water is.”

After a moment, they move forward to travel beside you and stab a flower towards your chest. “What in the Underground is a ‘Pinocchio’?”

“Well technically,” you gently take a flower from them and watch as it fades away. “Pinocchio is a movie about a puppet named, well, Pinocchio. He’s trying to become a real boy or something with the help of a fairy and a cricket? I can’t remember the details too well, but that’s the gist of it I think.”

Chara pulls out another flower and slowly tugs off petals. “That sounds rather idiotic, you know that right?”

You ignore them in favour of remembering all that you can. “I think there was a bit about donkeys as well? Like the antagonist of the movie had something to do with donkeys?? I have honestly no clue what the fuck that is all about though.”

“B, what the fuck? What does this have to do with anything?”

“I don’t know!” You throw up your arms and start walking again. “Besides, I can’t even give you a proper explanation of the movie because I can’t remember the names of his dad _or_ the cricket!”

Behind you again, Chara makes an exasperated noise, but they seem to let it go.

While you stalk away, you put more brain power into trying to remember the name of his dad more than anything.

 

 _What the_ fuck _was his name? The dad and the cricket’s both._

 

Much to Chara’s amusement, you are so enthralled in your thoughts that you don’t notice a patch of very tall grass than you end up doing a face plant into.

 

 _Face_ plant _ehehe_

 

You chuckle to yourself while you check your face for damages. When, from what you can tell in the poor lighting, you fingers come back free of blood, you right yourself completely and look around. The grass is a about up to your chin, and rather thick, but this looks to be the only spot where it is growing. To be perfectly honest, it reminds you of a garden, like it’s here for a reason. Chara must feel like there should be something going on too, you notice when you look around for your companion and cannot find them, meaning they faded away to be unseen.

You wait for another moment before pushing through it to see if anything happens. It’s just as thick as you first thought, and you do your best not to permanently bend any of it downwards. You can’t shake the feeling that it was there for a reason, and besides. It would be plain rude to break this lovely grass like that. Once you reach the end of the patch however, the sudden shift in ground causes you to lose your footing and fall forward.

Your face squishes itself into a grimace in preparation, but at the last moment, something catches your bag and pulls you back upright.

Once they have let go of you, and you’ve properly now pulled yourself out of the grass, you turn to look at your helper. For a moment, you almost expect it to have been Chara, though that’s just you thinking far too highly of them.

“Hello?” You call out cautiously.

“Hi!” A barely familiar voice calls back. “If I hadn’t been here, you would have taken one hell of a tumble!”

Out from the grass, steps a yellow monster in a nearly solid coloured shirt. After a moment of eye squinting, you recognize him from Snowdin. “Oh, uhh,” you flounder for a moment, trying to remember his name, “MK, right? From Snowdin?”

“Yeah!!” He shoots you a big grin and pushes past you. “You’re the one who’s been staying with the Skeletons!”

“Yup, that’s me.” You say as you take him in.

MK is perhaps a few inches shorter than Sans, so about a half-head shorter than you, and most notably, he lacks arms. Instead, every time you’ve seen him out and about, he’s been carrying things with his teeth, or on his tail. Honestly, you find it rather impressive. That requires a lot of strength. Also, his orange sweatshirt is nearly solid, with a few thin stripes at both the collar and bottom hems. From what you know about monster fashions, this puts him at the end of his teenage years, perhaps just a little younger than you. Based on all you know about him, MK is a pretty chill guy.

“Hey so, what are you doing out here anyways?” You ask him as he wanders away from you and further down the path.

MK turns back towards you and flashes another big grin. “I’m here to check out Undyne during her patrol! That’s why you’re here too, right? Well, anyways, I want to be in the Royal Guard and I figure that the best way to get prepared is shadow her!” He turns back forwards with a bounce in his step.

You stand there flabbergasted for a moment.

_Get moving Frisky, MK might be the thing that gets you out of here alive._

_I hadn’t even thought of that._ It’s a pretty good idea, you realize. Chara is out of commission for Waterfall, not that they were the biggest help in Snowdin to be fair, and you could use all the help you could get.

Plus, the map you often forget you have, has been left behind.

“Hey wait! MK, you’re here to _shadow_ Undyne around?” You rush to catch up the apparently quite fast little monster. “Do you have any idea where she would be right now?”

“Uhm, yeah, I know where she is.” MK looks hesitant for a moment. “Do you want to come with me?”

_Say yes, say yes! This is going to be_ so _exciting!_

“Yeah, sure, if you don’t mind.” You try to give him a soft look, one that might earn you some sympathy.

He looks a little uncomfortable, but nods at you again before continuing down the path further into Waterfall.

You haven’t been walking for long when you realize two things. One, that MK is vibrating as he walks. Though, you really want to call it ‘skipping’ instead. Two, he must come through Waterfall a _lot._ Seriously, he’s standing in all the right places, he seems to know all the tricks, and he’s managing to keep one step ahead of even you and your spectral guidance.

Chara had said something about bridge-flowers, but couldn’t tell you much past that.

MK, on the other hand, had given you proper instruction and even a front seat demonstration of how they work.

All it is, apparently, is taking a bud, putting it in the water wherever you want it to bloom, and backing the hell off. Due to something you’re chalking up to ‘magic’, the moment the bud gets submerged, it explodes with growth and roots itself to the spot immediately. The petals are strong enough to support even you after, even though you think that may be hard to handle. Flowers shouldn’t be that strong. But then again, you decide that it’s all magic and leave it at that.

You do get a pretty good kick out of watching MK drop it in with his mouth and backpedal as fast as possible out of there.

You’ve both passed all that now though, and are just sitting on the ground in a room he said held the night sky. For now you and MK are resting, looking up at the stars. You’re pretty sure that he has figured out you’re a human, though you have no idea how. But, if you’re honest, you’re a little surprised more people don’t know. Quite frankly, you look _nothing_ like the other monsters. The closest you have would probably be the skeleton boys, but you have flesh and they have a much thicker bone structure.

“Why are you really here?” MK asks you suddenly.

“Because,”  _You need to pick your words carefully here kid._ “Because I’m hopeful, MK.”

These rocks in the ceiling are a piss poor replacement for the real night sky, but you’re hopeful that everyone here will someday get to see it for themselves.

“Why are _you_ here, MK?” you ask in return, more out of curiosity than anything else.

MK flops back into the dirt and laughs. “You’d probably just think it’s silly.”

“Lots of things are plenty silly. Did you know Paps and I made snow skeletons day before yesterday, then used them to play a prank on Sans? You’d think the three of us might be a little less silly than that.” You flop down beside him but keep your eyes on the ceiling and the echo flowers around you.

“But that isn’t _silly_ silly, that’s _funny_ silly!” Out of the corner of your eyes, you can see him kick his feet in annoyance.

You turn to him and give your best puppy dog look. “I promise I won’t laugh.”

“Alright,” he sighs, “I’m here because I like to hear what other people wish for. One day, when we get to the surface, one day I want to be able to make everybody’s wishes come true.” He gestures lazily with his tail to the electric flowers beside you, whispering quietly.

You sit up and look down to MK. “That’s the most honourable thing I’ve heard in a long time. You know, I think you’d be perfect for the guard. The Underground would be the safest it’s ever been with you helping out.”

Chara gags in your ear.

_What._

_Enough of this_ emotional _thing. You’ve got a date with destiny B._

“That’s really kind of you to say.” MK looks like he’s about to cry, but as much as you’d love to stay here and gush, Chara’s right.

“Hey, MK, I think I’m going to go on ahead. Would you like to stay here or come with?” You stand up and brush the dirt off your pants, which have mostly dried by now. You’re still shivering, though.

“Uh, I think I’ll come with. Maybe we’ll run into Undyne!”

You just do your best to smile pleasantly and nod, while he grins and jumps up. In all honesty, you’d prefer to _not_ do that. Even if that time ends up being **unsaved,** you don’t really want MK to be there when you go through your big battle. Race. Whatever.

Nevertheless, he bounds up and out of the wishing room, as you were informed it was called, and takes a walks along boardwalk path that goes further into the heart of Waterfall.

Along the wall attached to the boardwalk, there is a series of signs. MK keeps looking nervously at them then back to you, but they don’t appear to be written in a language that you can understand.

“Can you read those?” You ask. Chara whispers in your ear that he’s acting a little suspicious.

“Uh, yeah.” MK goes back a few feet and turns to the first sign. “Would you like me to read them for you?” You answer him with a nod. “Uhm, alright. This one says ‘The War of Humans and Monsters’ and the next says ‘’Why did the humans attack? Indeed it seemed that they had nothing to fear. Humans are unbelievably strong. It would take the **soul** of nearly every monster just to equal the power of a single human soul’.”

He stops and looks at his feet.

You’re sure he knows what you are.

MK sprints past you, using his tail for balance, and then reads the next sign without waiting for you to catch up. “ ‘But humans have one weakness. Ironically, it is the strength of their **soul**. It’s power allows it to persist outside the human body, even after death.’ ” He looks down to his feet again, then tosses a nervous glance over his shoulder towards you. Then MK runs down to the fourth sign. “ ‘If a monster defeats a human, they can take it’s soul. A monster with a human soul … a horrible beast with unfathomable power.’ ”

Mk looks even more nervous now, head down and tail twitching. There is one more sign, past him, but he makes no move to stand in front of it. Instead you have to walk around him to look at it. He’s visibly shaking as you pass.

It’s an illustration of a strange creature. There’s something very unsettling about this drawing.

You turn back to Mk only to find him farther back than you left him. There is almost tears in his eyes but he says nothing.

You don’t even have enough time to ask what’s wrong before Undyne appears at the end of the boardwalk, from the room with the fake stars in the ceiling.

“HUMAN!” She snarls.

You barely have enough time to see MK mouth ‘sorry’ towards you before Undyne takes her first step and your fight or flight kicks in. As your feet beat down on the boardwalk, you toss up a hand and call out a ‘SEEYA MK’  and thank your past self for the foresight to change your socks. Chara tells you that they think MK led Undyne to you, and from the way he was acting, you are inclined to agree.

You’ve barely gone anywhere before the first aqua spear slices past your head. It hits the boards with a dull thunk a little ahead of you and you have to swerve to pass it.

 

_Just keep running, it will all be fine in the end. Just keep running, just keep running. Just keep running._

 

Another spear comes towards you, you can hear it before you can see it, and you duck. It sails right through where your head would have been.

Sure you know logically that you can make it through this, but the adrenaline in your system and the weapons that are aimed quite near to your body are saying otherwise. Just how had you been so calm about this all earlier, and how can you re-enter that state of mind?

A third spear lands within inches of one of your feet, and you let out a shriek.

 

_JUST KEEP RUNNING, JUST KEEP RUNNING._

 

The boards beneath you crack and warp slightly beneath your feet, and a stitch is starting to appear in your side, but you have to keep going.  _A step to your left._ You move. A spear sails past you on your right, exactly where your chest had been.

Eventually, the running just becomes natural. It is still beginning to get painful, and you still have to listen for Chara’s instructions on where to move, but your thoughts begin to wander. ‘Just keep running’ turns into ‘Just keep swimming’, which makes you think of two things. One, that you think Papyrus would _love_ to watching “Finding Nemo” with you, and two, it makes you think of the ocean.

Ocean makes you think of water.

Water makes you think of the water in Waterfall.

Which makes you think of Pinocchio. Again.

The only difference is that this time, you are able to remember the name that had been alluding your mental grasp earlier.

“GEPPETTO!” you shout in excitement.

Another spear is headed towards your back but you jump out of the way, a grin plastered to your face.

 _C,_ you huff, _I remembered the dude’s name from that movie! It’s Geppetto!_

You’re so excited you even manage to pick up the pace a little.

_Wait, Frisk Don_ \- For a moment, you thing that you hear the squeak of a mouse. -  _shit._

_What?_ For all that it is stupid, you managing to remember that has made you pretty determined to beat Undyne at her own game.

_You just_ **saved** _, you idiot! Now when you die, you’ll have to do this all. Over. Again!!_

_Aw shit._ Well, that hadn’t been what you were expecting. In fact, you were expecting it so little that the sudden news makes your steps falter and - You tumble off the boardwalk and into the water below.

You don’t make it all the way down through, your head makes contact with a support beam. The sudden impact makes your body feel like it’s on fire, and the last thing you can remember is hoping that the water will cool you down.

* * *

- _shit._

What? In confusion, you stop running and stand there. You feel sick to your stomach, seemingly at random.

_What?_

_ You just sa \- _ Chara is cut off by the sound of a projectile zooming towards you. It hits the center of your back, you can tell, and pushes your soul out. For a moment, the brilliant red is all you can see before a storm of pale spears rain down and hit your soul. You’re so shocked you can’t move, and the barrage is thick enough that you can’t make out anything that is happening on the other side. Each one feels like a bullet through a vital organ, which in a way it is, and Chara tells you to hold onto hope.

Just when you think you’re about to _crack_ under the weight of all those hits, it ends, and a hand attached to an arm attached to a child tugs you forward. You do your best to put foot before foot, but another electric aqua spear catches you.

This time, you _do_ crack.

* * *

- _shit,_

You don’t stop running. That feeling, the phantom pain from a **load** hits you and you stumble a few steps. While stumbling, you’re ankle rolls.

Behind you, the sound of Undyne catching up gets louder.

You can’t let a little pain stop you.

_You’ve come this far, you can’t let this stop you._

You keep running. This time you get to the point where the boardwalk starts getting twisty, slowing you down, before Undyne manages to land a hit on you.

A spear gets you in the foot. This one was not meant to push out your soul, this one is meant to disable you.

The red hot pain of your hamstrings being sliced sends you down for the count. You can feel warmth flooding your boot as you crouch down, yelping in pain. Your vision turns white around the edges and you have a hard time focusing on breathing. Chara whispers in your ear to just  _load back, just load back, You don’t want to feel what comes next, load back, please._ But you don’t know how.

You can’t force it. You don’t know how.

And because of that, you have to sit there, in total agony, while Undyne takes her sweet fucking time walking up to you.

She picks you up by the collar of your shirt and raises you to eye level. By now your vision is spotty and you can feel your hold on consciousness slipping.

The last thing you can see, before the pain becomes too much and you pass out, is a manic grin on Undyne’s face. With the last of your strength, you search her face for any of the compassion that had been there the last time you were this close.

There is none.

You let the darkness take you.

* * *

- _shit,_

You can’t stop running. You know this now, you _have_ to keep running. This is not the same Undyne that you met with before. _This_ Undyne will kill you without a second thought.

Instead of slowing down and trying to be careful with the curving bits of the boardwalk, you just try and speed up and jump it.

Chara whispers more urgently when you need to move out of the way and you put the last of your energy into sprinting. You land each jump, though the more you do the worse you do for each landing. On the last one, you nearly roll your ankle again, but you keep going.

_Only a little longer._

You push through the stitch in your side, and the boardwalk ends. Undyne keeps throwing though, so you can’t slow down. Chara tells you to slow, and despite the adrenaline, you do.

For good reason as well, a patch of that long grass ends up next along your path, and if you hadn’t, you would probably have just ran through it. You tumble through the first few feet of it, then stop, crouch, move a little further in, and try to control your breathing. The grass is still plenty longer than you are tall, so hopefully it hides you well.

_Hide. Duck, and wait. We might just make it out of here alive._ Chara doesn’t physically appear, but you can smell the flowers. It helps you calm your breathing down.

Through all this, Undyne hasn’t stopped her random tossing of her weapon. You’re fairly certain she’s lost sight of you, but that woman isn’t one to just give up. Another barrage of bright aqua is sent your way.

 _Chara, can you see her?_ Another spear sails over your head. From the angle, you think she’s close to your hiding spot. The grass is stiff and you worry that any movement will be enough to break a blade of it. Your hiding spot is the best under the circumstances, but it is nowheres near good enough to leave you with a sense of security.

The thudding of feet and the soft clink of armour get louder and louder until you’re honestly convinced that she’s right about you. There is the quiet fizzing noise and the cave ceiling above you turns a bright aqua. You crouch down even further, trying to make yourself unseen.

You can hear her breath now, she’s so close. You decide to hold yours own.

A moment later and the tip of a spear is wandering between the blades of grass. It’s almost right above you when you hear another set of feet. Whoever it is causes Undyne to pull back.

“Undyne…” a small voice you recognize easily starts talking. “Why are you doing this?”

“Because, kid, we need a way out!” She snarls MK. “You know they’re human, you know what their soul would do for us!”

“And so you’re willing to kill them for it?”

“HUMANS HAVE KILLED MORE MONSTERS THAN I CAN COUNT.”

“... are you really so ready to kill too?”

“Kid, I’ll do ANYTHING to get my family out of here. That includes you, ya know. Why are you fighting me so hard on this?”

“Because they’re my family too!” You can hear MK take a step forward. Or backward. But based on the growl that Undyne lets out, you’re fairly certain he took a step forward.

For someone who barely knows you, MK is standing up for you in a big way. No matter if you don’t survive this one, you really do owe him something. Maybe you could get Papyrus to put in a good word for him? Though, you aren’t sure how much he would even want to be a part of the guard if he’s willing to stick his neck out this far for you.

“They’re a HUMAN!”

“They’re stuck here too!”

“HUMAN” She stomps around.

“Family!” He stomps as well.

“UGH, the YOUTH are so impossible to work with!” There is pause and then a spear flies dangerously close to your head, close enough that it shaves off the top of the grass.

There is nothing after that but the stomping of metallic boots and your breathing. That is, until small feet once again walk towards you. A yellow head pokes through the grass until it makes eye contact with you, and,

“I’m sorry. I really, really am.” Mk pauses and looks away from you. “I’ll uh, I’ll be back in Snowdin. If you ever need help, just let me know.” and with that he removes himself from your little hiding spot in the grass and runs off.

You stay crouched down in your spot until the only thing you can see, the only thing you can hear is the sound of the water and your own breathing.

 

_Was that all of it?_

 

“Fri - B. That isn’t the end of it. We need to keep going.”

You blanch. That’s not the end of it? That wasn’t the _all_ of?

“You can take a break, B, there is a chance for you to catch your breath. But you _cannot_ stay here.” Tiny hands and yellow flowers invade your vision.

You pick yourself up from the grass.

“Just follow the path, she won’t be back for a long enough time.” Chara puts their hand in yours and tugs you along.

For the first few steps, you don’t feel like you’re the one walking. Then you regain control.

You did it. You _survived_ it.

 

 _I_ did _it._ I _did it!_

 

You can feel a grin split itself across your face. “Chara, I did it! We did it! We’re alive!”

“Yeah!” Chara grins at you and floats up an inch or two. Their flowers turn a heady gold.

This is the best part of the day so far. You _survived_.

“B., I am very pleased to say that your progress has been **saved**.” Chara smiles again, then fades back to nothing more than whispers in your ear and a perfume of flowers around your head.

You decide that it is time to keep going.

The path here is almost boring compared to what it had been in the past. Straight, closed rock walls and the normal squishy ground. You do see some fairly cool glowing lichen though, and some more sparkling gems in the rock wall. Other than that, it’s mostly dark and spooky. You give Chara some bad puns, and they return them with increasingly creative names. Your favorite right now is ‘Surface apologist scum’ though most of them are rather amusing.

 _Hey Chara, what’s that table doing there?_ Why is there a table in the middle of nowheres anyways? You aren’t close enough to see what’s on it yet, just make out what’s there.

_I have no clue, like I’ve told you. It’s all a little fuzzy here._

You shrug to yourself and keep walking. The table gets closer, 100 meters turns to 50 turns to 25 turns to 10. It isn’t until you get almost within arm's reach that you notice the sleeping figure at the side most hidden from your approach.

_Aw you gotta be fucking ki_ \- “Sans?”

A bleary skeleton pokes his head up and looks at you with tired eyes. Sockets. Eye sockets. Whatever. Then the sockets are squished downward, suspicion, but only for a moment, and then they go back to just being tired.

“ _tibia_ honest, i was pretty sure it woulda gone a lot smoother than that, kiddo.” he drops his skull back into his arms.

There’s no chair behind him, you’re pretty sure that Sans is short enough to just lean on the table and lazy enough to fall asleep like that. “Hah, yeah. Me too.”

“you had four **loads** in quick succession.” he stops to yawn. “mind sharing what that was all about?”

You kick the dirt at your feet. One, do you really want to share how much of an idiot you had been, **saving** while in the middle of running away, and two, what the hell is he doing here?

“kid”

“You look like shit, you know that? What did you do all day?” you laugh a little nervously.

Sans just picks his head back up from the table and glares at you.

“Fuck, fine. I - ugh.” You sigh heavily while you try and pick the words to say it. “I savedwhilerunningfromUndyne.”

“what? couldn’t quite catch that.” In all honesty, you can’t tell if he’s just fucking with you or if he actually didn’t hear it.

“I _accidentally"_  you need to stress that part, "saved while running for my life from Undyne.”

Sans looks at you for a moment, complete seriousness in his eyes, before breaking out into boisterous laughter. He goes on long enough that you seriously consider just walking away and letting him catch up to you when he can hold a real conversation.

“kid, i, i have no idea what to say. that is the most _boneheaded_ thing i have ever heard of!” He goes off again laughing.

_ Pissant. _

For your sanity, and his safety, you decide to leave Sans behind and keep walking.

 

You’ve been going for a few minutes now, and you can still hear his laughter echoing back and forth around the cavernous halls. By now, your anger has faded some, though you are still rather annoyed that he suspected you of something in the first place. You didn’t even know what he suspected you of! Talk about rude.

Okay, maybe your anger hasn’t faded in the slightest.

Now though, the path branches off two different ways. One leads to a doorway that you can’t see through and the other goes to some sort of lake with glowing aqua water. That … shouldn’t be possible. You want to go investigate, immediately, and you begin to walk towards it.

_Doorway first!_

_What no!_ You toss a hand out to indicate the water. _That looks cool as hell, I wanna go see_ it _not some stupid doorway._

_You can see it after, I wanna go see what’s through the door!_

_Water!_

_Door!_

They do something that floods your senses with the scent of flowers. It goes from comforting but not overpowering to the point where you can't smell anything else - You can practically _taste_ the flowers.

 _Ugh, fine._ Sighing, you head towards the doorway.

It’s made of wood, dark and dry. You’re pretty sure that it is guarded by something to keep the moisture out. Through the doorway there is another small room. Honestly, it looks a fair amount like the alcove behind the waterfall sans the water and tutu. Instead, there is another box (which you ignore) and a cart with an orange cat monster working it.

_Okay, booooring. I’m done we can go see the water now._

_Wait wait, hold on._ You walk up to the orange cat. “Whatcha selling?”

He shrugs and picks up a stick with some plastic wrapped around it. “Nicecream. Are you interested? Not that it really matters anyways.”

Well, you deserved some sort of a treat for getting past Undyne. “Sure!”

You reach into a bag pocket and pull out a few gold pieces. The cat takes seven from your hand and then passes you the ‘nicecream’. When you unwrap it, the package has an inscription of a hug on it. Chara gags at the sweetness of it, but you think that it’s nice. Probably why it’s called ‘Nice’ cream. You go back through the doorway, leaving the rather apathetic cat monster to his business, and letting you enjoy yours.

The water, you notice, is actually glowing. You can’t see an algae or similar organisms growing in there to make it glow like that so it simply _must_ be the water. You wander over to the edge of the path, then down to another boardwalk going out over the lake. Pond. Body of water. Whatever.

When you finally feel like you’re far enough out, you sit down, remove your bag and put it on the boards beside you, and hang your feet over the edge. You don’t let them hang far enough down to touch the water though, they haven’t been dry for very long now and you’d like them to stay that way.

_Hey do you think I can get wet?_

_I don’t know, can you get cold?_ You start taking licks of your ice cream popsicle.

_Huh. Fair enough._ Chara sounds fairly thoughtful.  _I’m going to go see if I can hang out at the bottom._

You sit there, quietly enjoying the pretty atmosphere while Chara does something in the water. It’s a nice enough break between meetings with Undyne, you decide. After a few minutes of peace, the boards behind you creak.

“What is it, Sans?” You ask the air. The nice cream wasn’t enough to quell your anger entirely.

“i,” he starts talking then stops. And then you can feel the the boards underneath you shift. When nothing else happens, you toss a glance over your shoulder and see Sans sitting in a mirrored position to you, on the other side of the boardwalk. He grips the board tightly before saying anything else. “i don’t know what to think about you.”

“Pardon?” You look back out to the water in front of you and finish your food.

Sans sighs heavily. “you’re _new_ kid. i don’t know what to do or think about you. and because of that, i fucked up.”

You hum your assent. He did fuck up.

“i thought you would react differently than you did, and i brushed you off.” He sounds almost physically pained by having to admit this. Talk about deja-vu. “i’m sorry for assuming so much.”

“I can appreciate your apology.” You say quietly. “I can probably even forgive you. But please, please don’t do that again.”

 

 _That had_ hurt _. I had_ DIED _and he treated it like a joke._

 

“you know how i feel about promises.” You sigh. In that case, there will be no forgi - “but i can let it go this time … you’re a lot more important than some stupid grudge against making promises.”

Relief floods you. “Good.”

“we alright?”

“I think so.”

“good.”

“I’m glad that’s over with, because that was not very _bright_ of you.” You lean back on your hands and let your toes kick the water pointedly.

You hope that he caught that.

“yeah, lately i’ve been _drowning_ in bad choices.” Sans says cautiously.

You let out a little chuckle. That wasn’t half bad. “I’m sure you’ve been making quite the _splash_.”

“yeah, i’ve really been making _waves_.”

You and Sans both let out a few laughs and sigh as it winds down.

 

_We’re alright. Which is good. I didn't want to be upset in the first place._

 

_Hey. I brought you a cool rock I found at the bottom._

_What?_ You look to your right and find, as you were told, a cool rock beside you. _Hey, you know this would be a perfect rock for skipping._

_What? You can do that? Hey if you can show me, it might even make up for the_ gross _atmosphere between you and the trashbag._

_There is no such thing going on._ You whisper adamantly. _But I guess I can always show off my sweet rock throwing skills._ After a moment, you pull back from leaning against Sans. Your side of the lake is a little short for rock skipping, so you move to the other side of the boardwalk and sit beside him.

“Hey, check this out,” you say and skip it. The rock goes three long skips before sinking. “Pretty cool right?”

“yeah, that was kinda _chill_.”

_Dude, I want to see how many you can get it though. Hold on a sec, let me get you some more rocks. I’ll just set them beside you._

_Kay. Thanks._

“You know,” you move around a little and then lean against Sans again, his side this time. He lets out a small chuckle as you get comfortable. “I’ve never seen water like this ever. Why does it glow?”

“magic, probably. tibia honest, i have no clue.” He leans back into you and the fluff of his hood gets in your mouth.

“Mmmm.” you hum your assent and spit the fluff out of your mouth. “It’s kinda strange how magic is just this ‘catch all’ for things you don’t understand. Up on the surface we would blame that sort of thing just on some science we don’t understand. I mean, it probably has something to do with biology. But then again,” you shrug. “It’s probably just magic.”

“haha yeah. but, the surface huh? you talk about it sometimes, but you don’t say much.” He pushes against you a little to get your attention. “what’s it like up there?”

“It’s noisy, Sans. But it’s pretty, and there is just so much of it. There are so many things I want to show you guys.” You take a rock and try to skip it across the water. It only makes it two skips before sinking.

Sans lets out a little chuckle before skipping his own. It goes five. “i’d love to see it all some day. is there anything specific though?”

You laugh. “No, no. It’s my turn now! How many skeleton monsters are there?”

He squints at you before lifting up a hand. You watch amused as he counts it out on his fingers. “uhhm, five, i think. there’s me and pap, and the twins out in the capitol, and as far as i know there is one hiding out somewhere near the ruins. in the ruins. whatever,” he picks up another stone and throws it out. This one goes an impressive total of seven, but you’re pretty sure you see a hint of blue around it, not just the aqua of the water.

Wait. You know where you are getting _your_ rocks from, but where is he getting his? “my turn now. so, is there anything specific you want to show me?”

“I want to show you the old abandoned buildings in my home town in the summer because you can see the stars so well from there, and I want to show you the lake in september, the leaves look so nice in the fall, and I want to show you _everything_ . Now, did King Asgore _really_ name the capital ‘New Home’?”

“yeah, he’s not really the most creative of guys.” He picks up a rock and tosses it up and down in his hand, thinking. “are movie theaters _really_ as bad as you told paps?”

“Yes! Oh my god they are.” You throw up your hands. “Ugh they are honestly so gross. Sans, the only time we are going to a theater will be me showing you two just how bad they are.”

He side eyes you, with that look of hidden joy. His grin is sly, but it makes your heart beat, and to top it off, he finishes it with a wink. “it’s a date.”

_Hey B, is there anything ‘frisky’ going on here? Or is it really_ ‘just business’ _like you say?_

_You shut your god damned flower scented mouth._

Sans gives you one more side look before going back out to the water and skipping the rock.

It jumps 8 times before falling.

This time you’re sure you saw that telltale caribbean-sea blue.

“Hey! You cheated! Rude!” You excitedly point a hand out to where the stone was when it sunk.

Sans winks at you again. “that isn’t a question, kiddo.”

“Fine, my turn. Did you use your magic on that stone?” You glare at him, and Chara giggles in your ear. You’d forgotten just how much they enjoy watching you get worked up.

“well of course. use what you got, right? _my_ turn. do you miss it?”

“Miss what?” You look back out over the water. It’s beautiful here, you wish you stay here longer.

“the surface, the sun. all that.” He shrugs and tosses another stone. This one doesn’t have any magic on it. It only makes it 2 skips.

“Yeah, I mean, I guess. There are certainly some things that I do miss about it.” You swing your feet over the glowing water and watch how it turns your view blue while you think. “I miss hanging out with my friends after a long week, and sitting down to watch terrible movies until dawn. And falling asleep with my cats, or even my uncle and his shitty dog. I don’t really miss the sun,” you turn to Sans and smile gently. “I miss falling asleep in the front window because of how warm it is. I miss the way my neighbourhood looks after a rainstorm, and going out to a field in the middle of nowhere to watch the meteor showers.”

You stretch your foot and kick around the water a little. There are more things that you could say, but they’d probably only make you more homesick.

When you turn to look at Sans, he’s still got his eyes trained on you, and although it might just be a trick of the electric blue light, a faint blush on his face.

“why would you ever want to stay here?” he asks quietly, like he’s afraid of the answer. Knowing him, you think, he probably is.

“Because,” You pull your feet back up to sit on the boards in front of you in a huddle, and lean more into Sans, “if some sort of godly hand picked me up and set me back in my home today, there would be so many things I’d miss _here_ too.”

After a moment, Sans picks up an arm and puts it around your shoulder. You don’t lean away, even when Chara’s laughter peals out around you.

“I’d miss Papyrus, and how he always insists on doing the dishes, even when he is the one that cooked and I’d miss how he can brighten up a room just by standing in it. I’d miss how it is always hot chocolate weather back home -” (for a moment, you forget that the Skeleton household isn’t actually _your_ home) “- and it’s completely acceptable to do nothing but wrap up in a blanket and sleep. I’d miss getting to call Tori and talk about nothing but being happy, I’d miss exchanging gossip with Grillby -” Sans lets out a small laugh at this and you look up to glare at him.

“You do know that we gossip about _you_ most of the time, right? Anyways, I’d miss that, I’d miss how the dog-guards are always willing to go for walks with me, I’d miss all this here in Waterfall, now that I’ve seen it. I’m serious, Sans, we’re coming back here one of these days and just hanging out with the flowers. It’s so peaceful.”

You trail off for a moment, and Sans gives a little squeeze to your shoulders. You can feel your face heating up, but you don’t stop. With a momentary surge of determination and stubbornness against Chara, you keep going.

“I think most of all though I’d miss you. The jokes are stupid and you’re really bad at just talking about the things that are bothering you, but I’d miss you all the same. It isn’t really my place to say this bu -” You cut yourself with a sneeze. Then another. Followed by a third. 

 

_Gross._

 

The atmosphere is totally ruined by this, because Sans jumps up and asks if you’re alright. His face is practically glowing and you can tell that he’s looking for some sort of an out from this conversation.

“I’m just coming down with a cold, I’ll be fine.” You wave a hand in his direction as you sneeze again. The nearest echo flower plays your sneezes back to you.

“kid, that doesn’t really sound like fine.” Sans points to the echo flower beside you. There is a touch of annoyance in his voice, probably towards how blase you are being.

“It’s just a cold,” you repeat, “I’ll be fine once it clears up.”

He points a little harder and you sneeze again.

“But, I guess maybe you’re a little right. We should probably go home before it gets any worse. I don’t want to have Undyne come track me down while I’m feeling all gross and stuff.”

Sans, apparently pleased by your acceptance that being sick is a bad thing, grins and gives you a long, slow wink. (You have to do your best to fight any blush at it. Chara cackles at you in the background)

“come with me then, kiddo. i know a shortcut.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so im sitting there, writting the outline for this chapter, and all i could think of was the way people draw the water in waterfall. it's beautiful, and i love it, but i couldn't get it out of my head. then i remember that it looks like the way water is done in that one scene in pinocchio, and so i get thinking of pinocchio but i keep writing becuase it needs to be done, ya kno? and i'm about halfway through, trying to decide how the undyne race happens, and i remember the name of pinocchio's dad. i had a fucking epiphany and like had to go around and tell people. i was so excited. this is how this happened.
> 
> also, and more interesting, this is the 6 month annaversary of alts! Wow! it was never supposed to take this long i'm so sorry. the sidefic is also updating today, i hope you enjoy'd all of this.


	24. Chicken Soup for the Soul and Other Stories for the Saviour of Monster-Kind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> did you know that the titles can technically be up to 240 characters in length? sometime's im pretty tempted to make one that long. just to see if I can.

The thrill of Sans taking you home via shortcut is gone the moment he finishes making that statement. The void makes you queasy and that’s just as a fever starts to hit. Add that to the tickle in your nose and throat and you were beginning to think that Sans may be right. This might be a bit of a larger deal than you thought it would be. By the time he manages to get you back home (not _your_ home, you remember, _his_ home), you’re hold on consciousness is beginning to slip.

“hey, take your shoes off before falling asleep,” Sans tells you with a laugh in his voice as you face plant onto the couch.

You mumble something that sounds like “do it yourself” into the cushion and remain where you are.

“c’mon kid. at least keep your feet off the cushions.” Sans pushes your feet off the couch, leaving you lying there diagonally, and sits in the now empty spot.

“Where’s Paps?” you ask, face still muffled by the cushion.

You can feel Sans move around before he responds. “probably at the store, getting the last of the ingredients for supper tonight. you did give him an im- _pasta_ -ble to ignore task this morning.”

Since you are doing your best not to move, in hopes that that will help your stomach settle faster, you just lightly kick your feet at Sans. His laughter carries over and it makes you kick your feet more. Eventually, you both stop and just sit (or lie, in your case) there in the quiet room. Your head is beginning to pound, your stomach is still doing loops, and every few minutes you either sneeze or cough.

 

_I’m definitely sick. Gross._

 

You move your head a little, so that just your cheek is now on the cushions instead of your whole face. The carpet’s strange coloured pattern dances for a moment before your eyes settle. Whatever sort of bug you had caught in Waterfall, it sure was a quick hitter. Now there is the dizziness to add the list of things that it had caused in just a few hours.

“I think th - ugh, hold on.” You close your eyes in hopes that it helps the queasiness stop. “I think that you might be right. This doesn’t feel like any cold I’ve gotten before.”

There is no response until you can feel Sans get up from the couch. Then he lifts your feet back to the spot they had been in. You suppose this means that he’s not coming back to sit with you. “i’m going to check around, see if there is any surface cold medication around. _pill_ you be alright on your own?”

Since he’s now to far away for you to inflict your patented feet attack, you just groan at the pun. “Just bring me a bucket before you leave.” You can hear him shuffling around for a moment before the room gets quiet again and you are left alone.

You can’t help but wonder what Undyne will be doing now. In the notebook, it says that Frisk just took a little breather in between encounters. Something about Sans and a trip Grillby’s. But it’s written in such a way that makes you think it all happened on the same day. You’re beginning to get the feeling that whatever illness you’ve contracted will still be around for, at the very least, another day. That is, unless it leaves as quickly as it came. In any case, you wonder what Undyne is getting up too while you sit here trying not to die of whatever this is.

_Okay, fuck. You look_ nasty _._

_Gee thanks,_ you flick an eye open to see yellow flowers. _What do you want anyways?_

_Well, I was going to tell you to just get your shit together so we can finish up with Undyne, but I think you might literally die if I do that._ Chara backs up a little and what you can see of their face is twisted in, presumably, disgust.

 _Can you not handle the ill, Chara?_ Your head is still pounding and as much as you enjoy the flowery perfume they carry everywhere, it’s a little too strong right now. _Also, go away, you’re just making it worse._

_Rude._ They blow a raspberry at you. You respond in kind.

 _No, I’m serious. Go fuck with shit in Sans’ room for all I care._ You go back to lying face fully down in the couch cushion. For a moment, you worry about what’s happened in this specific spot, but then again, you’re too ill to give a shit.

Chara lets out a small gasp.  _So when you give me hell for this later, I’m going to remind you of this exact moment right here. And you won’t be able to say shit._ And then they are gone.

The silence of the room is, at first, helpful. Without Chara’s flowers here to make your headache worse and them just talking in general, the pounding of your head lessens. Breathing doesn’t get any easier, and although there isn’t anything actively agitating your stomach anymore, it still won’t stop doing the ‘about to heave’ thing. Eventually the quiet starts to feel lonely though. You almost wish someone would come back and just sit with you. They don’t need to sit beside you, or say or do anything, just be there.

You don’t want to feel like you’re alone.

Longer still and you can hear someone else in the home. You’re too far gone to be able to discern who it is just by sound, and you are definitely too far gone to roll over and ask. It’s just the thing you need though, and sleep comes to claim you.

* * *

“Wake up, wake up!” a voice you haven’t heard in awhile calls out. You roll over and much to your surprise, your stomach has settled.

“I’m awake!” You call back. The pounding in your head returns though, and you wince. Why had you fallen asleep on the couch though? You always go sleep in your room when you’re sick.

You try to push yourself up from the couch, but the best you manage is just sitting up. It looks like you won’t be going anywheres just yet. Taking a breath to steady yourself, you call out again. “What are you doing in there?”

“Cooking, of course!”

Ah, cooking, of course. You aren’t sure if you can stomach anything but you can always try to eat anyways.

You focus on just how ill you feel, trying to take stock of what seems wrong right now. Well, there’s your queasy stomach, and then there’s the headache. Put those together and you have a fever, but - you interrupt yourself with a sneeze. Then a second and a third. Well, it isn’t just your stomach and your head. It’s also your nose and throat. Which means it’s a cold, with feverish side effects. Probably. In any case, you feel sick as hell.

Maybe, if you asked, he’d bring you a cup of tea and a blanket? Yeah, yeah, he would.

“Jay…?” You call quietly.

“Yes?” Wait, that voice doesn’t sound right. “Friend, Did You Say Something?” Papyrus comes around the corner from the kitchen.

Why had you thought it was Jay? Did you, did you think that you were back in your own home?

_Papyrus was talking to you. Are you not going to answer?_

_Hush, Monique. I’m thinking._

_Who in the absolute fuck is_ ‘Monique’ _?_

You pinch your arm. You can hear Papyrus, still loitering around the entrance to the kitchen. _(I need to get ahold of myself. I’m not Aboveground. I’m Underground. I am here.)_ “Sorry Paps, I was wondering if you could make me a cup of tea, if that wouldn’t be too much trouble?”

_No, seriously, who is Monique._

You take a moment, a deep breath, and stand up from the couch. The movement knocks over a bucket that had been placed beside the furniture. You’d have to remember to thank Sans for that later. For a moment after you stand, the room spins around you. It makes you feel like you are going to fall over but you manage to stay upright and once it stops, you start your trek to the hall upstairs to grab a proper blanket. Where had the one you were normally using gone anyways?

_Damn it B! Talk to me! Who is Monique? Or Jay?_

The stairs creak underneath your feet as you walk on them. _Jay and Monique were - no_ are _my best friends on the surface._ You reach the top unceremoniously and head to the closet in a similar fashion. _They are the ones who usually take care of me when I’m sick so I guess I confused you two with them._

From the closet, you pull out a rather fuzzy blanket. It isn’t as good as the one you had been using before, and nowheres near as good as the ones you have Aboveground, but it’s nice enough.

 

_I really should buy my own. I’ve been mooching everything while I’m here, I really should put some gold towards buying my own things._

 

“Friend!” Papyrus calls as he rounds the corner again from the kitchen, mug in hand. “Wait, Where Did You Go?”

You lean over the bannister and smile down to him. “Up here.”

“What Are You Doing Up There?” He sets the steaming cup down on the side table.

“Well,” so much movement is beginning to make you ill again, but Papyrus’ infectious good mood overpowers that. “someone must have picked up my blanket so I needed to grab a new one.” You toss it down over the bannister and it lands on Paps’ head.

Both you and Chara (watching from somewhere) get a good chuckle out of the flustered look on his face once he untangles himself.

“Of Course Friend!” He lets out an annoyed sigh. “There Was No Need For You To Be Using A Dirty Blanket When There Is Both A Washing Machine And A Closet Of Fresh Ones.”

A cough wracks through you before you can respond. By the time you have recovered, Papyrus has jumped up and over the banister and is now gently patting your shoulder. “Thank you,” you manage in a hoarse voice. “And for the blanket too, I was just teasing.”

“I Knew That,” He says gently, still patting. “Sans Told Me You Are Ill, Friend. Do You Not Think That You Should Still Be Resting?”

“heh, probably.” You both turn towards the front entrance and see Sans standing there, with a weary grin on his face and bags under his eyes. Just where the hell did Sans go?

Papyrus leans down beside you ear and says, in the quietest voice he can manage, “Just where the hell he go?”

Now, you’ve heard Papyrus swear before, but each time is just like the first - you doubled over laughing and him begging you with his eyes to not tell Sans what he just did. This time is no different, save a few coughs mixed into your poorly contained laughter.

“hey,” Sans looks up at you and Papyrus full of confusion, “did paps tell a good joke or something?”

You struggle to tell him that, no, Papyrus did _not_ tell a joke, but aren’t able to accomplish that. You’re just laughing to hard.

In response to both you and Sans, Papyrus scoops you up, bridal style, and jumps back down over the bannister. You stay in his arms as Papyrus crosses the living room in a handful of steps, going straight over the couch instead of around before being dumped unceremoniously into Sans’ grasp.

At least, that’s what you're pretty sure happened. Whatever this illness is, you get the feeling you're not processing things properly.

“I Did Not Tell A Joke, The _Human_ Was Wondering Where You Had Went And I Told Them That -” with his now empty arms, Papyrus began to gesture wildly. “- You Had Gone To Try And Retrieve Some Medicine.”

Sans looked down at you, still being held a little awkwardly. “so what was so funny then?”

You snicker a little, but one look at Papyrus’ pleading expression seals your mouth shut. Instead, you keep your eyes locked with Sans’ and shrug, feigning nonchalance.

“and why am i holding them?” Sans asks, squinting at you. For a moment, he looks full of energy. Looking back later, you would decide that it was because he is teasing you. You can’t hold his gaze any longer and turn to watch Papyrus.

“Well!” Papyrus brings a red mitt to the corner of his mouth and tilts his head back in thought. You have no idea what he’s about to say, but it’s a pretty entertaining display to say the least. “There Was A Book I Read Once That Said That Humans Need To Be Held When They Are Feeling Sick! It Helps Them ‘Feel Better’ So I Figured That One Of Us Should Be Holding The Human.”

Sans turns his squinting gaze up to Papyrus. You take this opportunity to go back to inspecting Sans’ appearance. Whatever he had been doing had really taken a lot out of him, you decide. The only time you’ve ever seen him looking like this was when he came back home after the Incident. Though, you suppose, that was several times worse than this. Right now could be like the midway point between ‘normal Sans’ and ‘I-Look-Like-I-Did-A-Stint-In-Purgatory Sans’.

“so why aren’t you holding them?” Sans flicks his eyes back down to you for a moment and you turn away as quickly as possible. You figure that the fever you undoubtedly have will make a good enough cover for the blush in your cheeks.

Papyrus takes one step back, then another, and finally turns on his heel to sprint back into the kitchen. “Because I Am Cooking!” he calls. You both watch him go.

“well?” Sans doesn’t turn away from the kitchen, but he readjusts his grip on you. It’s actually rather comfortable now. He smells like blueberries and chalk. “is that true then?”

 _I suppose it isn’t_ wrong _per say. Being near someone you care about can make a person mentally feel better at the least._

_Oh, so that’s what this is now?_ Chara butts their stupid little voice into this one moment with a laugh.  _You’re just trying to ‘_ mentally’ _feel better, not get a little … Frisky?_

You instantly blanch and push yourself out of Sans’ grasp. While you stumble, Chara’s soft laughter turns into incessant cackling ringing in your ears.

“Nope, nope. Pretty sure that it isn’t true at all!” You mumble and dash to the other side of the couch, where the tea Papyrus had brought you is waiting. Instead of looking back at Sans, you sit down on the cushions and ignore everything to drink your tea.

…

Yum.

Wow, what good tea.

It’s so _… strong._

Yeah, you’re just going to pretend that he made it well so that Sans goes away.

Chara goes _off_ on this, you’re fairly certain that they are doing flips around you. You’re also fairly certain you won’t ever hear the end of this. Ever.

_Damn B.! I wasn’t expecting you to be so forward with the monsters. Or,_  They pause for a moment to guffaw some more while your blush just gets worse,  _is it just_ this _monster?_

You, instead of sipping your tea, chug the whole damn thing and escape to the kitchen. Chara’s laughter follows you, but for the tiniest of seconds, you think that you can hear Sans laughing as well.

As you dash into the kitchen your headache begins to return and your stomach upsets itself again.

“Papyrus,” you start quietly as you skid to a stop right in front of the tall monster, “what the hell was that?” You put your empty mug down on the counter.

Papyrus turns away from the large pot (containing spaghetti, no doubt) and leans down to you. “What Was What?”

He sounds awfully innocent for having just pulled that stunt. “All that! out there!” You keep your voice low.

“Oh! I Cannot Remember Which It Was, But I Do Remember It Saying Very Clearly That Humans Can Benefit From Physical Contact And Comfort.”

A tiny voice in the back of your mind says that he isn’t wrong. You tell it to shut up. “And why do you remember that?”

Papyrus stirs the pot on the stove again for a moment before checking on whatever he has in the oven. “Because I Thought It Is Very Interesting That Humans Are Comforted By Hugs Just Like Monsters!”

He honestly was just trying to help? He wasn't trying anything? That's … a little embarrassing actually. You had been the one to blow this out of proportion. And why?

You can’t handle a little of Chara’s teasing?

What the hell was going on with you?

 

_… maybe -_

 

Nope. Nope Nope Nope. No way. You decide to blame it on Whatever Underground bug you contracted while running from Undyne. All other possibilities are wrong and therefore irrelevant.

You are forcibly removed from your introspective daze by a mug being shoved into your hands.

“You Came Back In Here For Some More Tea, Yes?” Papyrus asks as he goes back to making the food that’s beginning to smell heavenly.

After a moment of sputtering, you respond. “Uh, yeah. Thanks Paps.”

“You Really Should Be Resting Though.” He gives you a sidelong glance and you figure that that is about as close to a threat as you will hear from him. You and your mug back out of the kitchen at a fast pace in an attempt to appease the mighty Papyrus.

 

_Geez okay, talk about an aggressive bedside manner…_

_It is pretty sweet that he cares so much though._

 

When you get back into the living room, Sans is sitting lazily on the couch, watching some garbage on the television. It looks like it might be a Mettaton™ classic, but that only makes it _more_ likely to be absolute trash than less.

You take a seat on the far side from him, clutching your mug of tea tightly. He may not know what you were just thinking about, but you definitely know what you were just thinking about.

 

_Just calm down. Things can go back to normal, chill out. I need to get back to work anyways. Yeah, yeah. As soon I’m feeling better I can get back to work on freeing everyone and totally forget about this. That’ll be good for me._

 

In the moderate quiet of the room, when you start coughing again, you feel like everyone in Snowdin can hear it. Plus it feels super _gross_ , phlegm in your throat and all that.

“that reminds me, i found you some medicine.” Sans doesn’t turn away from the t.v. as he tosses you a small container. “ _pill_ you need anything else?”

“You already used that one.” You flip the bottle over and read the label. It’s an off brand bottle of ibuprofen with medium strength. It isn’t cold or flu specific, but you decide that it will be better than nothing. “I don’t think so, but thanks.”

Taking a swig of tea, you swallow the indicated amount.

“so what is that supposed to do anyways?” Sans side eyes you but quickly goes back to the television.

You try your best not to notice this. You fail.

“Uhm, something about blood vessels or something. I don’t really know dude, I’m an art student.”

You fail to not notice Sans side eyeing you again.

“But they are pretty useful for my weak human body.”

You also fail to not notice the almost sad sigh he lets out.

“humans are a lot more resilient than you seem to think.”

“I suppose.”

You _do_ fail to notice the way his face softens when he looks at you.

“art student though. i’m always learning new things about you.” Sans finally turns totally away from the t.v. and faces you with a slow wink. “guess that’s helping me _paint_ a better picture of your personality.”

A small laugh escapes you. Purely because it was funny, no other reason.

“ _tibia_ honest though, i don’t think i’ve seen you do any art before.” Sans and his slow wink face away from you again.

 

_What the hell sort of show is this? Is Mettaton serenading … himself?_

 

“What? Hm, oh yeah. I guess.” you shrug. “Most of the stuff I did out of classes was either commissions or things to keep me busy when I was lonely. Ever since I got here, I’ve literally always been busy or with someone.”

“makes sense, i suppose.” Out of the corner of your eyes, you see Sans start playing with his fingers. _Nervousness?_ “though, i wouldn’t mind getting a chance to see some of your work sometime.”

 _Why would he be nervous? He’s got literally no reason for that._ I’m _the one that should be nervous here._

“Hey, I think I might have a few pictures of things on my phone. I can show you later if you’d like.”

_And why should_ you _be nervous, good ole’ pal, B.?_

You chug what’s left of your tea to avoid responding to that.

“SANS.”

The sudden volume of Papyrus’ voice sends your empty cup flying. Sometimes people say that time slows down in moments like these, when you know something bad is about to happen, but to be honest, it sort of feels like it just speeds up. You watch that split second of helpless action in embarrassed horror before a blue glow surrounds the cup at the last moment. You watch in embarrassed relief as Sans floats it back onto solid ground.

“Sweet Catch, Brother.” Papyrus says pleasantly before looking at you and presumably remembering what he was doing here. “Sans, I Think It Would Be Best If You Stop Plaguing Our Friend With Terrible Jokes And Conversation. They Are Sick And Need Rest”

“sure bro.” Sans slow winks at his brother now. You watch in a sort of confused amusement.

Papyrus practically shrieks in response. “I Know You Are Setting Yourself Up For Some Terrible Pun So I Am Leaving Right This Instant!” True to his word, Paps turns on his heel and practically sprints back to the kitchen.

“awe come on bro. you know you can leave the _rest_ to me. i’m sure that they will be able to just _sleep_ it off.”

You can hear Papyrus’ quiet screams wafting through from the kitchen.

“i’m sure that this’ll all be just a bad _dream_ tomorrow!” Sans calls out. There’s a little blue on his cheekbones and you stare just a little.

“SANS. SHUT YOUR STARDAMNED MOUTH.” that, that was a volume you haven’t heard in a while. It makes your head pound a lot, but…

_Papyrus just swore at Sans! Oh my god!!_

_That was just a tiny swear. A lil baby swear. A practice swear. The kind of swear third graders dare each other to say in front of the teacher._ Your giddy feelings are almost swept away by Chara’s dissatisfaction.  _If he ever says anything interesting, then let me know._

You look over to see Sans wearing a mix of what you’re feeling - confusion, excitement, and annoyance - though in very different portions. For once, you can understand why Jay laughs and laughs whenever Monique would talk about the shit her siblings would pull. This was unexpectedly _hilarious_. You’re really glad that you were coherent enough to enjoy this.

Sans and you both watch in silence as Papyrus takes a few calming, deep breaths before turning to you both with a pleasant smile. “Food Is Ready, If Either Of You Are Hungry.” Having said his piece, Papyrus once agains leaves you alone in the living room.

“Oh my god,” you whisper to Sans. “That was hilarious!”

“i have to admit, i’m a little _star_ struck myself.” he whispers back.

You both chuckle quietly for a moment before you remember what Papyrus had closed with.

“I don’t think I’ll be able to eat anything. Would you ask him to put some aside for me to have later, though?” You ask as Sans finally starts moving.

Sans looks at you for a moment before answering you. It seems to drag on forever, and you have to remind yourself, _twice_ , that whatever is happening to change the beat of your heart, is most certainly not happening. “sure, kid. whatever you need.”

 

_Whatever … I need?_

 

Finally, the medication you had taken begins to work it’s magic, and you get blissfully lethargic. _In this moment_ , you decide, _all I need is sleep._

* * *

You wake up with a name on your lips, a scream in your throat, and fear in your heart.

You wake up with a not remembered death beating your SOUL into pieces.

You wake up in the dark. You wake up alone.

 

What had you been dreaming about? On the one hand, you want to remember what it was that terrified you to the bottom to your soul, but on the other hand, if it really was that awful … wouldn’t remembering it just make it worse?

A cold sweat breaks out across your skin and the room spins a little. Looks like even now, your sickness hadn’t left you.

 

_Fucking perfect._

 

You can’t see anything, you can’t stop shaking from the sweat and from your dream, and you can’t think. What had it been? Darkness, deeper than anything you’ve ever felt. All that truly lingers from it is a loneliness that is penetrating everything. You want to call out, you desperately want to call out for someone, anyone.

But you don’t.

You just rub your arms and do your best to even your breathing.

 

Eventually, your eyes focus on the room around you, and the darkness doesn’t feel so all encompassing. There is a creak on the floorboards somewhere in the house and you nearly scream. All that progression towards being fine again is lost.

“hey, hey. don’t worry, s’just me.” The floor creaks again and even though you’re supposed to know who it is, but you can’t stop your hands from shaking. “kid … are you alright?”

You stutter out a “no” for a moment before small hands take yours. They grip yours tight and the smell of flowers lingers, before both fade away. It was comforting, while it lasted. “Sans?”

“yeah?” You throw your eyes from left to right trying to find him. Once your eyes finish adjusting, you spot him near the stairs with his arms up in a placating manner.

“I’m sorry.” The nightmare sweat is beginning to work it’s magic and you rub your arms more vigorously in an effort to warm up.

Sans takes a few more steps towards you, confusion bleeding into his voice. “what are you sorry about?”

You shake your head and tuck yourself down into a ball. The shaking hasn’t stopped but at least he can’t see how bad it is anymore. “I woke you, didn’t I? I’m sorry. You need your sleep, Sans.”

A hand touches your shoulder and almost instantly you lean into it. The shaking calms a little. “don’t apologize for something you can’t control. that’d be a little _bone_ -headed don’t you think?”

“Heh, probably,” you mutter before a sick, wet sob chokes out. “I - I’m sorry.”

Sans moves around to face you, and cups your face with both hands. You flinch back, eyes closed remembering something you can’t place. “why are you apologizing?”

You want to say something, you really do but what would you say? You have no idea why you’re sorry. Instead, you just sit there silently. Mostly silent, at the very least - you’re hiccuping out sobs and coughing grossly still. It’s not a pretty combination.

Sans doesn’t say anything to your silence, but he sits with you, holding your hands until they stop shaking. After a few minutes, but long before you are in any sort of state like “calm”, Chara returns with their comforting scent of flowers. Just when had that become an icon of safety to you?

_Thank you._

_It’s my job, remember? I promised to take care of you._ They had.

You remember that very clearly.

 _Thank you._ You say it more forcefully.

Everything your friends - yes, that’s right. They’re your friends. Doesn’t this prove that? Everything your friends are doing works together to calm you down quickly from that point.

You do still feel insanely guilty about waking them both up. “You can both go back to bed now, thank you for sitting with me. I’m fine now.”

Sans’ eyebrows raise at the ‘both’, forcing you to realize your mistake. He doesn’t comment on it, thankfully, and instead squeezes the hands you realize are still in his grasp. That makes you embarrassed for a moment, but the comfort of it outweighs the heckling you feel you will get because of it later.

“are you, really? i can stay, kid. i know how bad they can get.”

He doesn’t clarify that and you don’t ask him to.

“No, no.” You pause to cough. “You need your rest, Sans.” This time, you squeeze his hands in comfort.

Sans obviously doesn’t believe you, it’s easy to tell.

He watches you suspiciously for a few breaths of time then slowly pulls his hands out of your grasp. Despite your assurances, you clutch at them, the terror at being alone rearing its ugly head. He looks at you softly for a moment, but continues to move away. Once his hands have totally left yours, you tuck yourself back into a ball. At least you don’t feel so cold like this.

The floor boards continue to creak, but you refuse to look up at him. He hasn’t abandoned you, you know objectively, but right now you are not objective. And he has left you.

 _ Hush, calm. He’s still here. And even if he wasn’t, B., you haven't lost me. You won’t ever lose me. _ You let out a terrible cough and tighten yourself a small amount. Comforting as it was, you couldn’t be sure.

_Promise?_

 

People leave all the time.

 

_I promise._

 

That’s what you did.

 

_You do?_

 

And you don’t even have the decency to remember it.

 

_I do._

 

You are about to start crying again, and instead bite you knuckle. Although it doesn’t keep you from letting loose a few stray tears, it keeps you quiet. For a moment, you can’t hear anything other than your own muffled sobs. Then, the television turns on  and the living room is filled with a sudden brightness. You very nearly let out another shriek, but are stopped by Sans returning to sit beside you.

“hey, don’t worry. it’s just me.” He makes eye contact with you, flicking his vision down for a moment to see the knuckle you’re using to keep yourself quiet, and slowly takes your free hand back into his grasp. “that bad, huh?”

Instead of saying anything, you just nod.

“mhm, i figured. messing with the timeline can do that.” For a moment, it sounds like he’s getting some satisfaction by your current state. “haven’t had to deal with them in a long time, but i’m pretty sure i still know the best cure.”

You nod again. That sounds promising, and even though some rational part of your mind is a little embarrassed that he’s the one comforting you, you’d like to be comforted all the same.

Sans leans back into the couch and motions towards the television. While you had been freaking out, he put on a … movie? “late night entertainment. to take your mind off things.”

That was his ‘cure’ to a nightmare? How unbelievably lazy. And a little silly. How truely Sans.

“what? have you not _scene_ this trick before?” he says quietly, reaching to the side table to grab the remote.

Wow, that was surprisingly not terrible. A small chuckle slips between your teeth and hand. Sans’ expression brightens a little at your surprisingly not terrible response and he’s genuinely smiling at you as he presses play on the movie.

Much to your surprise, Sans had picked the absolute worst of Mettaton’s movies, and therefore your favorite - his one actor rendition of _High School Musical_. Chara actually quite enjoys this one as well.

You slowly pull your hand from your mouth and wipe your eyes as the opening music plays. For a single actor (and his multiple cardboard cutouts of himself), Mettaton is able to pull off the opening duet scene fairly well. Just as the faux fireworks are popping, Sans starts to move around. You do your best to ignore him, but eventually he starts to pull his hand from your grasp. Instantly, your eyes move from the screen to him, and you see Sans has fallen asleep.

 

_Oh… I didn’t mean to make him sleep out here with me… Should I wake him up?_

 

But then you remember that darkness that seemed to have a iron-clad grip on your soul. You can always apologize for having kept him from a proper bed in the morning, once your sanity has returned. At least, that would be your rational explanation when someone inevitably asked. For now though, you were content to let Mettaton’s voice, the warmth of Sans’ grasp, and the scent of Chara’s flowers lull you back into a safe sleep.

* * *

It feels like you’re swimming. On one hand, you’re vaguely aware of being awake now, but on the other, this definitely doesn’t feel like being awake. It feels like you’re death incarnate.

You go to push yourself up off the couch and find yourself unable to move. _What…?_

You force your eyes open and try to take a look around. At first the sudden bright makes your eyes feel like they are bleeding but then you focus on a skeletal arm holding you down. And you are sprawled across a skeletal lap.

Your brain stops working for about 30 seconds.

Then you forcibly push yourself up and off the couch.

And then you almost vomit from the sudden movement.

 

_What a terrible start to a morning._

 

After a few moments your body and mind have calmed down enough for you to be comfortable looking back over at Sans. He’s just asleep, snoring a little with a carefree look on his face. Whatever had transpired to have you asleep across his lap was totally your fault.

Though your cheeks were already flush from what is no doubt a fever, you can feel them burn even hotter. This is something that you’d take great pleasure in forgetting ever happened.

“Oh my god.” You whisper. “Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god.”

 

In the absolute furthest reaches of your mind, you know why you’re freaking out. It isn’t that you have a problem with Sans, it’s a conglomeration of a lot of things that is keeping you from accepting everything. There’s the lingering feeling that he’s suspicious of you, then there’s the issue of you still may needing to give up your soul to break the barrier (though you avoid this thought like the fucking plague), and lastly, there’s the fact that you feel like you don’t belong here. The underground is a Monster place, and you’re not a monster. It isn’t your place to be interested in a monster, let alone be vying for them to be interested back.

Besides, it had been years since a human had been seriously interested in you, why would a monster be any different?

These aren’t the only things contributing to your fierce denial, and although you haven’t realized any of this consciously, you would recognize these as the most prominent factors.

 

In his hand, you notice, is your surface phone. Still cautious of the sleeping skeleton, you reach forward and pluck it from his hand. A flare of anger flits through you. When you had last turned it on, the thing was at maybe 30 percent battery and you had used the last of your portable battery a while ago. You press the home button and the screen comes to life.

For a moment, the sudden brightness hurts your eye again, and the flash makes you a little dizzy but it passes quickly. You gently sit yourself down back on the couch, as far from Sans’ sleeping form as possible, and take a look at the screen.

The battery up in the top corner is reading 80 percent.

“How?” You are a little louder than you planned and you can hear Sans slowly waking up. Incredulously, you flip through ‘your’ recently used apps. There’s the music player, both of your strategy games as well as your podcast app. The things you had asked them to not touch hadn’t been touched. But somehow, somehow, your battery was way higher than it should have been.

Sans’ small noises of increasing consciousness are grating on your ears and reminding you that _he_ was in possession of your phone. You turn to him and glare him down until he’s awake enough to register what you’re doing.

“do you got a _bone_ to pick with me or somethin’?” He asks, voice rough from sleep.

“What did you do to my phone?” You have to pause and cough for a moment, hard enough it feels like you might get some blood in the next one. “How is the battery power higher than it should be?”

He looks blearily between you and the phone you’ve shoved into his face for a moment before speaking. “magic, bud. don’t look a gift horse in the mouth by being _filly_. now you can use it as much as you want.”

“Ugh.” You pull back into your corner of the furniture and grab the blanket to rearrange it around yourself. “ _Ugh._ ”

He’s being grossly punny and you just want to feel not sick.

“What had you been doing with it anyways?” You ask him, trying your hardest to stay annoyed.

Sans leans forward and pulls it from your hand. You watch in stunned silence as he detfly opens it and starts pressing some buttons. Suddenly, music starts playing off your phone and he gets a wide grin on his face.

You aren't impressed.

Sans notices this, turns off the music, and quietly passes your phone back to you.

You pull back further into your blanket burrito and begin to once again cough violently. You’re absently aware of him getting up and leaving you to your terrible feelings for a moment, but you don’t think twice about it till he comes back.

“hey, drink this.” Sans gently forces a warm mug of something dark into your hands.

Although you think it’s sweet of him to make you whatever the hell this is, you’re still a little upset about your phone. Even whatever the hell he was doing was useful, he didn’t tell you about it and therefore your anger was allowed. Or at least, that was what your sick brain was telling you. You don’t drink the mug of weird liquid and just glare up at him.

“it’s sea tea, a monster remedy. you said this wasn’t a normal human sickness, so i thought maybe some monster magic would help.” Sans shrugs, maintain an air of nonchalance.

Again, that’s surprisingly thoughtful of him. You struggle to hold onto your annoyance.

“i know it’s a _steep_ task, but it should help bud.”

“I’ll drink it on one condition,” you tap a finger gently against the warm mug. Though it doesn’t seem to hot, you worry that you’ll overheat if you drink it.

Sans shrugs again. “i’m too lazy to make any promises.”

“Chillax with the puns, my dude. They hurt my already in pain brain.” You make straight eye contact as you say it and you listen as he makes a noise of acknowledgement. You wait for a few moments longer before finally coming to realize he’s not going to give you a solid yes.

With a sigh, you down about half the mug. Whatever this ‘sea tea’ is made of, it instantly helps. Magic, you remind yourself. It’s a magic remedy. The liquid sort of coats your throat as it goes down and the scent slowly works to clear your nose.

You are nowheres near top health yet, but this is a good start you think. Grateful at the relief it’s providing, you slowly drink the other half of the mug. By the time you’ve emptied the whole thing, Sans has once again sat down on the far side of the couch, and your eyelids are drooping.

* * *

You wake up a few times throughout the next few days, never for more than a half hour at a time. On the other side, you never managed to sleep for more than a handful of hours at a time, never enough to last as a full night’s sleep. No matter when it is, there’s always someone with you. Sometimes it’s Papyrus playing a game of Sudoku off your phone or watching a Mettaton special on the Underground’s t.v. channels. Other times it will be Sans, totally passed out alongside you or reading something from a heavy book you don’t recognize.

The times when you’re awake and mostly coherent, which isn’t often, Papyrus will bring you a bowl of soup that he says he ‘Made With Extra Love To Help You Heal Faster!!’. It’s sweet, how much he cares. Sans continues to do that thing where he’s nearby and trying to annoy and/or make you laugh and vacillates between being nonchalant about looking after you and basically hovering. To be honest, you’re a little glad that you’re asleep for most of it.

Chara’s around for most of it as well, though they’re a lot more subdued in their constant need to accompany you. You can tell that they are doing shit though, because every time you wake up and there isn’t a person near you, they knock something down loud enough to get one of the brother’s attention. One time, around the third day of you being sick you think, you ask them what they are doing before they are able to call attention to your conscious state.

_I’ve gotta make sure you’re safe, B._

_But I am?? I’m just ill?_ You had pointed a very accusatory finger at them. _You don’t need to be so protective Chara._

_Look, just trust me. Being sick down here as a Human can take a very nasty turn very quickly._

You had decided to drop the issue after that.

 

As time passed, you could feel yourself getting better. You still weren’t sleeping for very long, but you could _feel_ it getting better. By the last time you pass out, sometime around midnight after the fourth day, you were sure you’d be fine in the morning.

* * *

You wake up able to breathe more easily than you have in years, or so it feels. Maybe Papyrus’ ‘special soup’ really had something to it, you think warmly as you throw your legs out from the side of the couch. Every breath is that of fresh air, you decide. That is, until you catch the scent of yourself.

 

 _Fuck, I’m disgusting. I seriously_ need _a shower._

 

You stretch, grab a clean change of clothes (the ultra soft purple sweater with the delta symbol on it and a pair of comfortable capris, both gifted from Toriel), and head up to the washroom. As the warm water rushes over you, you marvel in how much better you feel. Then, afterwards, you head downstairs to hear Papyrus getting started on breakfast. _Isn’t it my day though,_ you ask yourself as you creep into the kitchen.

You sneak up behind him and jump onto the counter beside the oven with an excited shout. “Heya Paps! Watcha doin’?”

Man, not being sick anymore had really put you into a good mood.

Papyrus seems to pick up on this as well. “I Decided To Cook Breakfast Today As A Congratulations For Healing Yourself! I Am Making Those Delicious Chocolate Chip Pancakes For Today!”

You peer into the bowl in his hands to see, indeed. The younger brother is making the absolute best breakfast one could possibly make. What a glorious start to a morning.

_Good choice._

_It really is._

“Do you want any help with it, Paps?” You ask as you pop a stray chocolate chip into your mouth.

“No, I Do Believe I Have It Handled My Friend! Thank You For Offering, However!” As kind as it was, you can recognize this as the chef in Papyrus kicking you out of his kitchen. All the same, you figure.

As you return to the living room, you find your surface phone sitting on the side table, not quite where you had left it, but close enough. Sans and Papyrus both knew to respect your privacy and not go through your personal apps, but they were totally allowed to go play games or listen to music. Especially now that you know that Sans has a way to charge it. You pick it up as you flop onto the couch and open the lock on it. With a content sigh, you open up a small puzzle app and get to work distracting yourself until food is ready.

You’ve only cleared a few levels before Papyrus comes back out and practically shouts to you that food is ready before sprinting up the stairs to no doubt wake Sans. You chuckle to yourself about how it is probably far too early for the elder to be up, and make your way into the kitchen to get yourself some delicious pancakes. The usual sounds of those two make a comforting background soundtrack for your morning.

 

Breakfast was a cacophony of puns, shrieks, and moans over the good food. By now, it had ended and you had just barely managed to convince Papyrus to let you do the cleanup today. While you were washing the dishes, Sans appeared to be falling asleep on the other side of the kitchen. Every time you caught him sleeping on the counter a spear of worry would spike through you, but for now you figured that it was fine. It wasn’t like he was alone in the kitchen.

The silence of the kitchen doesn’t do anything to damper your mood and you find yourself humming the tune to an favorite song. You can’t really remember the lyrics to opening verse, but you do start to quietly sing the chorus under your breath. “If heaven and hell decide that they both are satisfied; illuminate the ‘no’s’ on their vacancy signs -”

“if there’s no one beside you, when your soul embarks, then i’ll follow you into the dark.” You are surprised and cut off by Sans continuing the verse. He lets out a hearty laugh when you turn to him in shock. “it’s a good song, kid. don’t blame a guy for being in _tune_ with the good tunes.”

You mutter about how terrible a pun that was as you go back to cleaning up. Though he wasn’t half bad of a singer, you pointedly stay quiet as you finish doing the dishes. You’ve almost finished by the time you hear Sans making more noises. Despite being curious, you elect to ignore him and whatever it is that he’s doing until after you’ve got the last of the kitchenware dried and put away.

“Alright Sans,” you start as you turn around to face the rest of the room. “What are you …” You trail off when you see what he’s got in his hands - two steaming mugs. “How - when did - what? Sans?”

He just laughs and floats a mug over to you using his blue magic. That was his response, you think. _Magic._

_Did you honestly expect anything else?_

_No, not really._ You jump up and sit on the counter across from Sans, who’s just leaning against the cupboards. _Though I do have to wonder how he managed to make this without me noticing._

_Magic._ You sigh. That was exactly what you were expecting to hear from them.

 

_That’s the one thing Papyrus can’t do - make a good cup of tea. It’s always much too strong._

_Though, I suppose that that’s to be expected with his character._

 

“I need to get back on track.” You say thoughtfully as you drink your tea. The sound of your heels knocking against the cupboards rings out through the kitchen. “This has been a nice break, but it’s time to get this show back on the road.”

“how’re you gonna do that?” Sans watches you from the other side of the room. “you sound like you’ve got some sort of plan.”

“Yeah, I’ve got a plan.” It’s forming, slow and steady, but it’s forming all the same.

“so? what is it?” He narrows his eyes at you.

You narrow your eyes back, playfully. As long as you keep a smile on your face, he won't be worried, right? “I’m still sorting through all the odds and ends.”

“what does that mean?”

“I, uh, I don’t think you’ll like it much,” you admit. This plan is using tried and true tactics, so you know it works. But you also know that it isn't a plan that he'll enjoy. “Papyrus!” You shout suddenly.

“what?” Sans looks incredulous.

“Papyrus!!” You shout again.

He takes a step towards you. “woah, woah. hold up. what are you planning?”

“Something I’ve done before.” You turn towards the living room and call out one more time. “Paps! Hey, are you even ho -”

“Friend, Yes, Hello!” Papyrus barrels into the kitchen and skids to a stop mere centimeters in front of you. “What Do You Need?”

You look up at him as innocently as you possibly can. “Could I borrow your phone for a quick sec, Paps?”

Papyrus pulls his tiny flip phone out of his pockets with a flourish and drops it into your hands. “I Am Going Out For A Run Right Now, So You Can Just Put It Back On My Desk Once You’re Done With It.”

“Oh, of course!” You flick your eyes back to Sans, and find him looking on in confused horror. He might have just realized what you’re about to do. “Thank you very much Paps!”

“Of Course! Friend, Sans.” He nods to both of you before turning on his heel and dashing out of the room. Much to your amusement, he calls out to you and Sans as he leaves. “See You Later!”

You flip the phone open and immediately go to contacts. After a moment, you turn to Sans. “Why does he not have a single normal contact name in here?”

“because that’s just the kind of skeleton he is.” He says with a sort of weary reverence for his brother. Sans is still acting wary of you, not that you blame him. You _are_ about to do something drastic.

You point a finger out to him, trying to pick the mood back up. “What’s my contact name in your phone?”

 _Ha, got_ _‘em._ Chara laughs loudly.

_What, do you know what it is?_

_Oh of course, that’s my business, as your protector._ You let out a silent laugh at Chara’s sudden insistence on protecting you. Only got sick once people, you think, y’all don’t need to be so worried. When your focus is returned to Sans, you can see him shifting a little in his seat. _He looks nervous._

_He’s embarrassed, you idiot._  They sigh, exhasperated. 

Oh.

 _Oh._ You decide that this is going to lead down a road you still don’t much care for and ask him a new question. “So, uh, is Undyne BigFish91?”

“who else would call themself ‘bigfish91’?” Sans says almost sarcastically before catching himself. “you’re not - that’s, that's too dangerous! kid! what are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking that Undyne likes to be confronted.” You pause and look down to your hands. “I know that it was a really stupid thing that I did, with Undyne. But you didn’t see her, Sans! The circumstances are different now. I’m not just giving up my chances anymore, I’m going to be selfish here and stay alive too. But, Sans. I know this is the right way to go through it now. Persistence and confrontation.” You look back up to see the skeleton smiling at you, almost fondly. It makes your cheeks to a rosy colour, but you don’t back down.

“I’m determined this time.” You flash him a bright smile and a wink, fighting through your blush. It forces a similar dusting of blue to his cheeks that makes your heart beat a little faster than it should.

_Your progress has been_ **_saved_** _, B. I don’t know whether to be proud of you for teasing him so well, or disgusted at how much you like him._

_I don’t like him!_ No matter how close you might be to accepting it personally, you sure as hell aren’t going to admit it to Chara. Just  like any good sibling, they wouldn’t let you live it down till the day you died. Like real death. Not this weird timeline rewind death.

They cackle in your ear for a moment.  _You do and it’s disgusting._

Pointedly ignoring Chara, you return to your conversation with Sans. “Anyways, this is her right? Bigfish91, XXX-XXXX?”

“yeah, that’s her.” Sans lazily brings an arm up to the counter and leans against it. For a second you wonder if he’s going to fall asleep there, but then he cracks a single eye back open and watches you. “do you know what you’re going to say?”

“I dunno, something cute.” It slips out before you can catch yourself.

_Why did I say that? Oh my god what do I say next??_

_Just own up to it, B. It’ll be funnier that way._

_Funnier? Chara, what do you mean by that?_

_Just roll with it B._ They chuckle darkly. You sigh inwardly before looking back to see a completely shellshocked Sans. It looks like he was expecting it as little as you.

“I mean, that’s how I got you to like me right?” Chara cackles approvingly as you say it. Sure you might not like him (or at the very least admit to it), but you sure as hell love the shade of embarrassed he turns as soon as you say it. Caribbean sea blue.

_Ahahaha! Totally worth it!_

Honestly, it’s a little worrying how much Chara enjoys watching other people get riled up. But then again, they also have a thing for second hand embarrassment. You suppose that it sort of comes with the territory.  _Why are you so weird, C._

_Because I can be, B._

The phone in your hands buzzes with a new text. You are reminded of what it is that you’re actually here to do. There’s no more that you can do to put it off, you think to yourself. After a moment more, you take a breath to steel yourself. This, calling her, had gone pretty well the first time, and even though the circumstances are different now you know that it’ll still help you win points in your favour. Hesitating for a moment more, you press the dial button.

It rings twice before she answers.

 _“MoshiMoshi~”_ That’s just as weird of a greeting the second time around.

“Heyyyyy.” You drag it out, trying to decide how you’re going to say what comes next. “Captain Undyne, right?”

 _“Of COURSE! Wait.”_ She stops to think for a half second. _“You aren’t Papyrus, who is this? Why do you have his phone? I’ll Have you know that STEALING is a CRIME punishable by -”_

You cut her off. “Yeah, yeah this isn’t Paps. Just borrowed his phone for a second. Anyways, are you busy right now?”

 

_Wow, playing it cool. Good job, me._

 

You can hear her sputter for a moment. _“Is this some sort of prank? Did SANS put you up to this? I’m going to go BOWLING with his SKULL!”_

 

Wow. that was really … drastic. You’d have to remember to ask Sans what all he had done to Undyne to make her threaten such measures. “No, Sans didn’t put me up to this. He is here though.”

You twist the phone out to Sans who had come to stand right beside you. He leans into it with all the grace a still slightly flustered skeleton could muster. “undyne, ‘sup?”

“Anyways, It’s uh,” a flash of nervousness hits you, “the human?”

 _“The HUMAN?? What the HELL are you doing calling ME?”_ She sounds just as shocked as Sans was when you first brought it up.

“Well I wanted a rematch.”

_“A rematch?”_

Sans is watching you carefully, but you are too focused on the phone call to pick out any new emotions from him. “Yeah, a rematch. I had to bail because I got sick, so you won by default.”

 _“What kinda sick - Do you think this is a GAME twerp?”_ Undyne’s voice no longer sounds surprised, only angry. _“This is the FATE of the UNDERGROUND we are talking about here.”_

“I know.” You do your best to keep your voice strong. Now all you had to do was bait her into meeting back up. You could do that. “Undyne.” You pause for a moment. “Do you think that in another place, maybe we could have been friends?” You had asked her this before and for a moment, you wonder if she'll remember that.

_“I … maybe? I don’t … UGH. You’re making me FEEL things! How ANNOYING.”_

“But do you think we could be?” Sans had gone from concerned (and embarrassed) to amused (and embarrassed). You’re pretty sure that Undyne is loud enough that he can hear her.

_“Are you not going to explain why you called me until I answer?”_

A tiny chuckle alights from your lips. This was going exactly how you hoped it would. “Nope.” You pop the ‘p’ loudly.

 _“Ugh. You're very gutsy, punk. You know that?"_  She mutters.

"And?" She still hadn't answered your question.

_"I think we could. Happy now?”_

“Very.” You toss a grin at Sans, and it takes a moment before he sends one back your way.

_“So why did you call me then, twerp?”_

You pause for a moment. This was the clincher. “I want to do something fun, with someone who could have been my friend. So I want a rematch. Something fun before I go out.”

‘Go out’ as in ‘give up my soul for the Underground’ but you don’t really need to explain that.

Undyne cackles loudly through the phone. _“And a rematch is your idea of FUN? Ya know kid. Maybe we really COULD be friends.”_

“So are you up for it?” You excited slam your hand up and down for a moment, getting Sans’ hand a few times in the process.

She cackles again. _“You know it!”_

“Meet me,” you pull away from the phone for a moment. You hadn’t thought to pick a place. Fuckin, woops. You look to Sans, hoping that he’s got an idea. “Sans where was it again?” Hopefully he’ll pick up on what’s going on here.

Thankfully, Sans does. He plucks the phone from your hand and you’re almost proud to see the lingering blue still across his face. “the cliff where you always used to find kids watching the castle.”

Sans pauses while Undyne says something that makes him turn bright blue again.

“yeah, sure. i can do that.”

Then Undyne says something else and now he looks visibly shaken. He sputters while Undyne cackles in the back.

You watch in amused silence as it continues in this fashion for a seconds before he slams the phone closed and hands it back to you.

“So…” You start, slowly. “We good to go, or what?”

Sans refuses to look at you as he passes the phone back into your hand. “you are.”

“What?” That hadn’t been the plan. You weren’t sure what the plan actually was but that wasn’t it.

“i’m uh, i’m not invited to this little get together.” Finally, Sans looks back at you. He looks bright, and freshly embarrassed. You have to wonder what it was that Undyne said. “so i’ll take you out there, then make like river water and _rush_ away, _rapidly_.”

_Okay, I enjoy puns as much as the next undead human, but can you literally stop now?_

You laugh, at them both. _Nah._ This was sorta fun. You were getting back on track with the rest of the Underground, and you were in an admittedly weird but also pretty good spot with both Sans and Chara. Maybe, perhaps, just a little bit closer than friends with one, and actually friends with the other. Things are _good_.

“And why aren’t you invited?” You ask Sans.

He flushes blue again but refuses to look away from you. “part of the deal.”

You let out a small laugh at his flush. “You made a deal with her in so short a conversation?”

“no, i was forced into it by a madwoman.” He sighs and gives you a familiarly strange look. You still haven’t figured out what this one is. His eye sockets are almost too wide, like a deer in the headlights and his grin looks almost drawn on. Like he doesn’t have any emotion to hold it there. “are you ready to go?”

“Uh, yeah. Yeah! Let’s do this!” Chara whispers to you that they are ready as well.

 

_Good. Everybody is ready, we can go get this over with!_

 

Sans gives you that strange look one more time before picking himself up and walking out into the livingroom. He calls over his shoulder that you should probably bring your phone this time, so that nobody has to go looking for you.

An embarrassed noise squeaks out from your mouth. “Heh, yeah okay. Fair point.” You babble as you follow him back into the main room. “I’m still worried about it getting wet though.”

“monster phones are made of tougher stuff than you think buddy, besides.” He flops down onto the couch while he speaks. Hadn’t everybody just agreed to leave? _Lazy_. “i’ve got the connections to hook you up with a new one on the off chance it does break somehow.”

“Alright fine,” you acquiesce halfheartedly. You didn’t want to inconvenience anybody by fucking up the phone you had been gifted by Toriel. “I’m leaving everything else though. They won’t be replaced so easily.”

You toss out a hand to indicate your backpack and it’s contents. Though it would suck if your clothes and other things got wrecked, but you’re most worried about the notebook.

The notebook, you remember a little absently, is pretty important. As you think about your little paper saviour, you decide to review it once before meeting up with Undyne. She can totally wait a few minutes while you catch up on what’s actually supposed to happen in Waterfall, right?

You lean down beside the couch to rummage through your bag and grab it before flopping down beside Sans. He cracks open eye to watch you, looking amused once he notices what’s in your hands.

“whatcha got that for?” He asks curiously.

“Well,” You crack it open and flip to the page on Waterfall. “I know that this isn’t how shit goes in the ‘alpha’ timeline or whatever, but some information is better than none, right?”

Sans chuckles a little and closes his eyes again. “let me know if you find anything interesting.”

“Will do.” You mock salute, despite him not watching anymore.

 

_“Frisk didn’t mean to challenge Undyne to a fight, everything was accidental. First Papyrus accidentally let slip that Frisk was in Waterfall, then MK accidentally befriended them. Undyne accidentally chased Frisk further into Waterfall, Frisk accidentally wandered far enough to get lost, and Sans accidentally fell asleep._

_“It all came together in the end though, because as Frisk escaped from Undyne into hotland, they were able to act once more in a way that ‘redeemed’ them of their human nature. By saving Undyne from the heat long enough for her to return to Waterfall, Frisk managed to escape safely.”_

 

 _“Frisk had two encounters with Undyne, although the first was more of a_ dangerous _race than anything else. Or so my sources tell me. After that first encounter, Frisk was carted off by Sans -"_ You look over the paper's edge at the sleeping skeleton near you side.  _“for a break at Grillby's. After returning to Waterfall, Frisk ran into Undyne a second time and had to face off against her in a **soul** battle._

 

Well. That was pretty interesting, a lovely story, but it didn’t give you anything to prepare you. Not that you really needed much preparation now anyways, Undyne was no longer out for blood. Or at the very least, wasn’t out for blood _yet._ You keep reading anyways though.

Just because she wasn’t trying to hurt you anymore didn’t mean that she wouldn’t accidentally. Apparently this area was _full_ of accidents.

 

 _“Undyne’s_ _green_ _magic makes a_ **_soul_ ** _stationary. If a person’s will is strong enough, their soul will manifest a shield to repel her attacks.”_

 

Blah blah, helpful but clinical, you note. What the hell did that really mean, translated into real person’s language? You look to the margin and find a clarifying note, in real person’s language. Man, the you of the past who wrote this (that you still can’t remember) clearly thought of everything. The margin reads:

 

_“Don’t give into her, and you will quite literally have a shield against her spears.”_

 

Underneath it the writing changes into the handwriting of the second person who had helped unremembered past-you create this notebook.

 

_“Run the first chance you get.”_

 

Then it goes back to that almost fairytale like retelling of the first runthrough, the one with Frisk.

 

_“At Papyrus insistence, Frisk and Undyne were forced together. He proclaimed that if he could make sure that both of his best friends were also best friends with each other, then everything would be good._

_“Papyrus left Frisk at Undyne’s house for a ‘cooking lesson’ that ended with her house being burnt to the ground, but also in a friendship between Undyne and Frisk.”_

 

And that’s all there is. The next page is about Hotland, and Hotland isn’t on the menu for today. You decide to read that section at a later date. Besides, you were probably running late for your ‘rematch’ against Undyne. It really was time to get going now. You look over to Sans and find him completely passed out. On one hand, it’s nice to see him getting some rest, but on the other, you had a job to do!

You set the notebook back down and then reach out to Sans. You give his shoulder a hard shove.

“Sans.”

He doesn’t stir so you do it again.

“Sans! Hey! Wake up. Bone-boy!”

This time you are greeted with a gruff mumble of something you can’t make out.

“I don’t care about your excuses, you can take a nap _after_ you drop me off so let’s go!”

This time you get a proper reaction from him. Sans cracks open a single eye and watches you. When you realize he still isn’t going to move, you let out an exasperated sigh and glare at him.

“what?” Sans sounds gruff from sleep, but highly amused.

For a split second you think that it sounds cute, but then you remember you’re annoyed with him. “C’mon man! Let’s go! I’ve got a date with destiny here!”

Sans watches you for a moment more, but doesn’t move until you leave his line of sight to go put your gear on.

The shards of Chara’s soul are sneakily moved from your backpack to your rain jacket’s hidden pocket, and your underground cellphone is tucked into the side, and that is soon joined by a flashlight. Once you shrug on the jacket and pull on your rain boots, you look back to Sans. He’s still got the hoodie/shorts combo that you’re familiar with, but he’s replaced his slippers with sneakers.

“Are we good to go now?” You don't let any annoyance at his boondoggling slip through.

He elects to just nod at you and then pushes past you out into the cold of Snowdin. You walk side by side for a moment before he reaches for your hand and asks you to close your eyes.

 

_Shortcut time. He’s only taken me through a few, and I still have no idea how they work … I should really ask him sometime. I’m sure that Sans’ magic can’t be too overly complicated._

_Or at the very least, if it is, he’ll find some way to simplify it so I understand._

 

You do as he asked and close your eyes. Though his hand in yours is nothing more than a safety feature of taking a passenger through the shortcuts, you still get some sort of thrill (You do your best to ignore that though). The coolness of it doesn’t offset the gross illness that takes over your stomach though. You can feel the moment when he’s led you out of the rip due to the sudden change in atmosphere. Or rather, the return of an atmosphere. Whatever those shortcuts are, it feels like you’re walking through nothing. Emptiness. It’s weird as hell.

“you can open your eyes now bud.” _Bud_. You aren’t sure how you feel about that nickname.

It takes a moment for your eyes to adjust to the strange darkness of Waterfall, and you pull your flashlight out of your pocket. You turn to Sans and watch as his grin becomes strained for a moment.

“Worried, bone boy? What happened to your confidence in your deal with Undyne?” You say a little teasingly.

Sans relaxes for a moment at your quip, and talks softly. “i’m not worried about you, or undyne really. she won’t go back on a deal.”

“Exactly!” There was nothing to worry about.

He grins at you, having got the message. “ _tibia_ honest, i’ll still be worried. but i believe in you. good luck kid.” And with that, Sans goes back through his shortcut and leaves you in Waterfall alone.

Almost.

“Chara?”

Your ghostly companion fades into existence beside you.

“I’m here.” They say, quietly.

“Good.” you start. “Let’s get going.”

Chara nods and takes the lead. As you both walk, you throw the light of your flashlight around. The room where Sans had dropped you off was long and dark, and mostly water filled. Although there are some small glowing lilypads in the water that give it a mysterious look, you can’t help but think that this room is creepy.

 

_I’m sure it’s just me getting back into the mindset. Plus it’s super dark here, even more so than my first time through Waterfall._

_Don’t much care for the dark._

 

You unknowingly pick up the pace and end up overtaking Chara. They let out a small chuckle at your perceived eagerness. “Didn’t know you’d be so excited B.”

“Yeah, haha. That’s me.” The sigh of relief you let out once you’ve left the wide open cavern is huge.

This new room, cavern, place, whatever, is smaller than the last. And, you notice, it has two exits. Both have small twinkling stones lodged in the stone around them, and there are no other indicators here to help you pick which way to go. Sighing, you speak up. “Welp, it’s your choice Chara. I don’t care either way.”

They catch up to you and with a slight nod, make their way towards the exit on the right. As they walk, you notice that you can see almost perfectly over their head.

 

_Maybe that's why they’re always floating? So that they don’t seem so short? Oh Chara. You’re always going to be the short one here. Don’t fight it._

 

You giggle a moment at your thoughts, but stop once Chara seems to catch on that you are laughing at something to do with them. They glare at you while you both wander forward.

Through the doorway you both find a room that is surprisingly small. In one corner there is a busted sign lying on the ground, and in the other there is an old dilapidated piano. There are a bunch of rocks on the top of it, and a layer of dust that looks to have been former over numerous years. You decide not to touch it. Looking past this, you see a stone door. That’s fairly interesting, you think, and rush forward to look at it.

The door is cracked open and you try to sneak a peek past it. The room beyond is dark and your flashlight is casting long shadows across everything inside. “Chara?” You whisper. “Do you know what’s in there?”

They come up peer in beside you. “No clue, B.. But, I get the feeling that it isn’t anything good. They don’t ever block up anything down here, so I don’t think you should be messing around with whatever it is.”

That’s … odd. You turn to Chara and just give them a once over. Nothing looks wrong, but you’ve never heard Chara tell you _not_ to go look at something. Maybe this was just them taking that whole ‘protector’ thing to a new level?

In any case, you weren’t going to argue.

“Eh, alright. Let’s keep moving then.” You push back from the rubble and dust yourself off before walking out of the tiny connecting room. There’s a moment of silence before you leave it where you look back to Chara and find them still watching the room. Whatever was in there, you decide, probably wasn’t something you should be playing with.

As you head back towards where you’re meeting up with Undyne, you pass the sign about a ‘great treasure’. You scoff at it before moving on. Further ahead, there are more signs in that writing you can’t make out.

“Hey, Chara. Can you read this?” You ask, pointing to one such sign.

They meander to your side and give it a hard stare, or so you assume. Those flowers, while being interesting, are a pretty foolproof blocker against their emotions being read. After a moment, you watch the set of their shoulders change and they lean a little closer to the sign. You figure that they have probably been able to decode what it -

“Nope, I got nothin’.” Chara steps back and shrugs at you. That … doesn’t seem right. But, you consider it for a moment, they’ve got no reason to lie to you and you’ve got no reason to be so suspicious.

“Welp, alright.” You decide to keep moving.

The corridor here is a little narrower, and the small stones embedded in the wall do nothing but reflect the light from your flashlight in odd ways. For the first time, you’re a little creeped out by what you might find here.

 

 _But that’s silly, right? Nothing bad is going to happen, actually. Undyne and I are sorta cool now. I mean, I don’t know for sure, but I_ know _she’d never pull anything before we see each other._

_Doing that would be too underhanded, she’d probably rather leave the guard._

 

You chuckle a little over that, and do your best to keep your breath even. Silly thoughts would do what they could but that wouldn’t change how nervous you had become. Chara stays mostly behind you as you walk, far enough away that you have to fully turn around to see them. When you do, you notice that they look nervous. The hunch in their shoulders, the shuffling steps, the browning edges of their flowers.

You get so distracted by figuring out Chara’s emotions, you don’t notice that you’ve been walking without them for a moment now. Your heartbeat increases immensely. Around you there is more dirt and stone, and a few steps further down the path there is a bucket full of umbrella’s. Though you have no reason to, you reach out forward and take one.

The ability to wrap your hands around something sturdy is a comfort.

That dealt with, you turn around and begin to backtrack. You know Chara can’t be far behind, their soul was with you. The ‘tether’ it had kept you both from getting too far apart.

It doesn’t take you more than 20 seconds before you find a small statue that has the telltale smell of wildflowers. Even if they didn’t want to be seen, Chara was here. There is gentle rain falling on the statue and to be honest, it makes you sad. It’s crumbling. You have to wonder who or what it was made to commemorate.

You hold your umbrella over the little statue while you try to decide what to do. Sans has gone back to whatever it is that he does in the day as per his part of the deal with Undyne, and you don’t want to forcibly break that pact. But at the same time, this place is pretty creepy and Chara is acting weird. You aren’t really ready to go through here alone.

You take a moment and try to breathe deep. Stay still a moment and focus on the things all around and count to seven, you tell yourself. The sound of the rain hitting the top of you umbrella sounds comforting, it reminds you of home and different times.

You get distracted, your mind going off on a tangent, remembering the last big rainstorm you’d witnessed before, presumably, you fell down here. This sends you off the trails even further. Why can’t you remember what had happened before you fell down into the Underground? What had happened? You blanch for a moment, once you remember that you _can’t_ remember saying goodbye. Were they worried? Did they think you were dead?

A harsh thought, a remnant of ideologies you’ve (unsuccessfully) done your best to leave in the past cuts through and tells you that, in all likelihood, they don’t give a singular shit about you or your lack of a goodbye.

You sigh to yourself and try to refocus on whatever is going on around you (but you don’t deny that little voice either, because honestly, it’s probably right).

The soft patter of rain reminds you of where you are and what you are doing. Though, for a moment you can almost swear that there is a soft lullaby playing.

 _Chara?_ Why do you feel like you should remember this song? It makes you sad. _What’s going on?_

When they make themself visible in a huddle on the ground, you notice the colour of their flowers is so pale it makes you think of death. The ghostly teen isn't looking at you, but instead at the small ruined arrangement. They reach out a hand but before it gets to the statue, they let it fall.

“Chara?” You ask quietly.

They don’t look at you, but you can tell that their words are meant for you specifically. “Do you think even the worst of people can change?”

“I, uh, I mean, I suppose? As long as they work at it.” You watch the small figure huddle a little further. You take a moment to look at them, and try and figure out what is going on. All you see are a bunch of tears. That’s … you haven’t seen those in a long time. What is going on here? “I - I don’t understand. What’s … what’s wrong?”

“No, B. You don’t understand.” They again raise a hand to the tiny crumbling statue. “You can’t understand.” The hand gently rests on what looks to be the head of the statue.

You stand there, under the umbrella with raindrops and music filling the cavern. There is a few minutes of silence that pass with you both still as the statue that started it before you slowly bend down beside them.

“Can you help me understand, C?

Chara’s head whips around to stare at you. You can see those black-water tears come from somewhere under their dead flowers before falling from their face and fading away from existence. “You _want_ to understand?” They snarl and lunge into you, drawing back at the last moment. For a second, you almost think that you catch a glimpse of their eyes, for the first time ever. “Fine. I’ll _help_ you understand.

“He’s _dead_ , and it’s because of _me._ Every problem that you can see here, it all links back to me in some way. Oh Darling B, you have no _idea_ just how much I fucked over the Underground by existing. I killed him, my _brother_ , and nobody even remembers his fucking name! He deserved so much better than a crumbling statue and an old melody. He deserved so much better than a sibling like me.”

As much as you want to turn tail and run, you’re sure you need to be here for them. That you need to hear this.

“I fell into the underground on a fucking impulse, I was a useless fuckup and the best thing for me to do was just leave. Escape. Never come back. And what’s a better way to do that than to fall down a hole into the bottom of a mountain? Well, as I’ve since learned, literally anything else is a better way.”

You aren’t sure what to say to that, so you just sit and wait for them to continue.

“I fell down that goddamned hole, and who else comes to save me but the fucking PRINCE of the realm. And he picks me up like I’m some sort of delicate flower, and brings me back to his parents. They aren’t sure what to do, because why would they? ‘What to do if your only child brings home the spawn of your mortal enemy and wants to save them’ isn’t covered in the beginner’s class on how to rule a country. But they took me in, and they were convinced that I was to be their saviour, if this _human_ ,” They spit out the word like it’s a poison in their mouth, “can learn to play nice with the monsters, then why can’t they all?”

Chara stops for a moment and hums along with the little music box. You can hear their voice break twice once they start talking again.

“They trusted me, they all did. And I messed everything up so many times. I couldn’t even read a fucking recipe right!” A bubble of sick laughter spills from their lips. “They trusted me and I got us both killed. I couldn’t do anything about it. I’ve tried, so so many times, to go back and fix it. Change something, anything. Keep him alive. Nothing works. It’s never worked.”

Chara once again whips their head up to look at you. The flower crown has gone from pale like death to the same pitch colour as their tears and their soul. For a moment, it looks almost like it’s melting off their head.

“Did you know, I’ve run this timeline so many times, I’ve gone back and forth trying to find something that would send us back far enough for me to fix it. I once even convinced myself the monsters would all be better off dead than in a world where I was around and he wasn’t! I had deluded myself and Frisk into killing _everyone_ and thinking that _we_ were in the right!”

No, wait. It _is_ melting off their head. Chara is melting down, body and soul.

“Frisk was so much better too, they deserved better than a legacy as the angel of death. He proved I’m not a monster, and they proved I’m not a human either. I’m a murderer. A demon.”

Chara is quiet for a moment and the music box plays on regardless.

“My brother deserves better than a crumbling music box and me for a sibling. Asriel deserved the world, deserved the goddamned sun.” Chara barely manages to choke out the last part before falling inwards on themself in a terrifying mix of blackwater tears, sobs, and choked laughter.

You reach out a hand, to do what, you don’t know. You stop though, once you see them look up at you, the look of someone who would rip out their own throat to have not said that. You know this look, you used to wear it all the time. And now, you recognize it in Chara’s big brown eyes.

You want to comfort them. You want to do something. This child, you think, this child is not okay. How can they think so terribly of themself? You don’t understand half of what they just said, but you do know that they are so much better than they think that they are. For a moment, you just hold their gaze, taking in the brown eyes that you’ve never seen before and trying to convey what you’re feeling in your expression. And then they are gone. Simply, not there any more.

The cavern seems a little darker and the falling rain sounds sinister more than it sounds comforting.

“Chara?” You call out.

But nobody comes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uhmmmmmm i have no justification for most of this chapter. I still don't understand romance and I seriously don't understand the logical progression of emotions haha
> 
> Also!! I know I don't often respond to comments anymore, but I see all of them and I love them! Thank you so much!


	25. A/N Moving Forward

Hey! It's been a long while. I understand that some people were beginning to get frustrated with how long the new chapter was taking so let me just come out and say it: as it stands right now, I won't be continuing to write Alternates.

There are a variety of reasons for this, things like having lost interest in the fandom and getting burnt out with the story, but in the end, it all boils down to this just isn't something I would be comfortable writing anymore. 

This probably isn't all that surprising to the people that waited the two months plus for the promised chapter, but I figure I should put this here and in the description for anyone who goes diving into the tags and stumbles across this. 

 

I do have all of my notes as well as the first 1/3 of the chapter that was supposed to go here so if anyone is really interested in where the story was supposed to go and how it would have ended, leave a comment here saying so or message me on my tumblr. I have no problem with sharing that info with you.

 

So I guess that's all! Best of luck with your own projects and I hope you don't end up too ambitious for your own good!

Seeya later space cowboy,

Rox


	26. A/N Looking back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Due to a couple people asking about it, this is everything that I had written for chapter 25, along with the notes on how the story was supposed to continue.

You stand there for a moment while the silence echoes back to you. The tiny music box plays on and for a moment, you feel a spike of anger towards it. Though it isn’t the music box’s fault, it’s a conglomeration of everything all at once, you still feel the need to blame it for a moment.

You call out once more. “Chara? I - I …” You trail off. What would you even say? They had basically spilled their life story to you - Chara, the child who wouldn’t even let you use their full name at first. You know what it’s like to say more than you mean too. You know what it’s like to regret that. And you know that sometimes just letting it all out in the open can make things better, but other times it can make it so so much worse.

This was obviously one of those times.

Chara wasn’t coming back, you realize. Technically, they haven’t gone anywhere. You’ve still got their SOUL, they can’t leave that behind, but … You are very much alone in the tiny corridor. Wherever they are and whatever they are doing, all you can do is hope and pray that they will be coming back to you soon.

You turn once more to see the tiny statue and it’s tiny music box and it’s tiny cracks and crumbling pieces. In your distress, you moved far enough away the rain has once against started falling against it. Though the tiny thing isn’t of much importance to you, it clearly is very important to Chara. Resigned, you lean forward and lodge your umbrella in the arms of the statue so that it holds itself up. Satisfied, you nod once more and take a step back.

“Chara …” What are you trying to say here? “Chara, it’s time for us to move on now. Undyne’s still waiting.”

There’s no response but you weren’t expecting one. It doesn’t make you feel any better though, and as you start off down the hall again your heart feels heavy and your cheeks feel wet.

Your flashlight glints occasionally off the small crystals in the rockwall. The strange lighting is confusing and creepy, even though you know that there isn’t really anything to be scared of here. You know you can hold your own in a fight, you know that you have no real aggressors here - especially since you have a truce or something of the like with Undyne - and you know that Sans is just a phone call away. None of it feels the same though, when you’re going through it all alone. There’s a terrifying moment where you remember that in a normal timeline, the child named Frisk would have had to have done this all alone. 

That scares the daylights out of you. You were already doing a rather pisspoor job at going through this timeline, but if you compare that to a small child who did it alone, you were failing in almost every way. They, Frisk, had to have been a seriously determined kid to do something so extraordinary. And, yeah, even if the Chara fiasco was currently dumping ice cold water all over your self esteem and thoughts, you could still recognize that Frisk really was something else.

 

_ Stop getting distracted! There’s work to do! Later, self. You can get all mopey and sad later. Undyne comes first. _

 

You berate yourself for not being focused enough on the task at hand and force yourself to keep walking. The corridor stays feeling just as weird and closed (you will forever be thankful that you aren’t claustrophobic) as you travel through it. Eventually, the rocks above your head slowly begin to open more and the corridor widens. Despite knowing that whatever happens next, you’ll be alone for it, you can’t help but feel a growing excitement as you wander your way down the path.

It’s a good ten minutes before the corridor opens wide enough for you to be in a new ‘area’ of Waterfall. This new cavern has more of those glowing sort of crystals as the wishing room you’d visited something like a week ago with MK. The only difference is that this cavern is huge. You can see for what feels like miles here, and at the end there appears to be a large structure like a castle. From what appears to be the other side of the structure, there is a warm orange glow. You figure that the castle like structure is New Home and the orange glow is Hotland. It’s been a long while since you’d been to either place.

As you keep walking along the trail, you are able to make out a figure sitting on the cliff side. You can’t help but think that the figure is just a little too close for comfort, but you’re going to have to get just as close to tell them to back up. It doesn’t take long before you are able to make out that it is Undyne, in her casual clothes. It registers in the very very back of your mind that she’s wearing the exact same outfit as the first time she killed out, gosh almost a month ago now.

Undyne doesn’t turn around but pats the ground beside her. That isn’t very surprising, she knew that you were coming. You don’t particularly care for heights though. There have been a few too many deaths for tall things to be comfortable for you.

“Are you not going to sit?” She still doesn’t turn away from the admittedly stunning view.

With a deep breath, you slowly begin to edge closer and closer the the cliff. “I’m working on it.”

She laughs and finally turns to you. “‘Working on it?’ Are you scared of heights, human?”

“It’s a developing fear.” You admit as you band down to sit despite still being a few feet away. “I’ve fallen down more times than I’d like to remember.”

“Fair enough.” She says and goes back to looking out over the Underground.

Nothing else is said between you for a few minutes. You had called her out here to battle or do something similar to earn her respect and/or friendship. This act of sightseeing was definitely not what you had expected. All the same though, you’re glad that this is what is is happening. It’s really chill.

The soft noises of rain and water in the distance form a sort of music that fills the quiet air. Despite the all too noticeable lack of Chara, you are finding small comforts in the rain. It isn’t enough for you be able to actually relax though. You can’t get Chara’s face in those last seconds out of your mind. They looked so … terrified. And they spoke of death. Your guardian, your companion, your friend. Whatever hurts had befallen them in the past were obviously lingering and you hated seeing them in pain. You want them to know that you are here for them, but this isn’t the place or time to coax them back out to you.

“You know,” Undyne starts while motioning out towards the castle. “We monsters are getting rather crowded here in the Underground.”

It hadn’t looked like it, from what you had seen, but you hadn’t been paying that much attention. “I know this is going to sound callous, but can't you just carve out more of the cave until the barrier is broken?”

She nods her head while you speak. “They had wondered about that too, back in the beginning. And so they tried it.”

You get the feeling that it didn’t work.

“It didn’t work, did it? If it had, crowding wouldn’t be an issue, right?”

“No,” Undyne shakes her head and motions again for you to look out over the Underground. “Well, it did for a little while. This is as far as they got. The barrier doesn’t just keep us from leaving to the surface, it keeps us under the mountain completely.”

Something clicks in your mind.

“It’s a bubble!” Everyone was trapped inside a bubble made of Human magic and the souls were needed to ‘pop’ it! “Oh my god. That just … that makes it so much ...”

“Worse than it was before?” Undyne asks?

“Yeah. That’s so cruel.” You turn away from the stunning view to see the imposing woman watching you with hard eyes … eye. “I think I understand you better now, Captain.”

She scoffs at your formality. “I’m not on the clock right now, kid. There’s no need to be so stiff with me. I was just trying to help you understand our … no, my motivations.” Undyne quiets for a moment, seemingly lost in thought. “But we didn’t come here to talk about SAD SHIT we came here for FUN!”

As she shouts, Undyne jumps up from her seat on the ledge and teeters for a moment before regaining her balance and grinning at you triumphantly. You, on the other hand, raise up carefully and quickly move back from the edge.

“Are you READY, Twerp?” Undyne shouts the moment she thinks that you are far enough away for comfort. 

“Yeah!” you call back, only slightly more subdued. Chara was still weighing on your mind but you wanted to get this over with and hopefully it would still be a pretty good time. 

Undyne hops around a few times to pump herself up, showing off what looks to be brand name surface sportswear. For a moment, you want to ask how she got her hands on it, but at the same time, she still scares the shit out of you when she’s excited like this. As Undyne stops bouncing off the walls, she sits down begins to stretch. You figure that that is a good idea and move to follow her lead.

“So what did you have in mind, punk?” Undyne asks as you begin to mirror her actions.

“Well,” you had a few moments to think while you searched for her and a few ideas came about. “How about something like a race to Hotland? But instead of trying to beat me there, you try and keep me from getting there within the time limit?”

Undyne moves on from arms to legs and you continue to follow her actions. “So, sorta like what I would do normally. Hunting you down and all.”

“But with significant amounts of less maiming and/or death.” You interject.

“But with less maiming and/or death. You know what?” Undyne turns her head towards you but holds the complicated stretch you can’t quite manage. “I’M DOWN! LET’S GO!”

You are roughly pulled back up into a standing position and then quickly brushed off by scaley hands. Undyne practically grabs your head and forces it to look down the path while she explains which way you are going to want to go. On one hand, if you follow her path then she’ll totally have a leg up on you, but on the other … You don’t want to get lost out there. Especially without Chara.

“Do you have your phone?” Undyne interrupts her own explanation of the layout suddenly. You nod and take it out of the pocket it had been stored in. After hesitating only long enough to get a nod of approval from you, she takes it and starts rapidly smashing buttons.

“There,” Undyne says as she hands it back, “you have until the timer runs out to make it to Hotland. If you aren’t there by then, and I haven’t found you, then give me a call so I can.”

With that dealt with, she continues the tirade of information that is going far too fast for you to absorb any of it. At the end, she pulls you once again to face her and focus on nothing else. “That’s all I can tell you to even the playing field. Your five minute head start starts now. GET RUNNING PUNK!”

You decide to get running. You’re pretty sure your five minutes are up by now, and Undyne is going to come thundering down the path behind you ready to mow you down. Despite not having been going for all that long, a stitch was growing in your side. Chara hasn’t come back to laugh at your pitiful progress, but then again, nobody has laughed at your pitiful progress. All in all, you’re feeling mixed emotions for today’s ‘outing’ in Waterfall. 

A few more steps down the passage and you decide that it is time for a break. What had Undyne said about breaks during her rampage of sports and active living knowledge? You slow down from the not-quite-breakneck-but-still-very-fast speed you had been going at to think. 

Undyne had said that this was the way to Hotland was through this corridor and then only go straight, don’t take any of the branches. But, if you follow the path, then she will be able to find you, and if she can find you then she can attack you. And the second set of encounters are supposed to use soul battles, the one thing that you can’t do without Chara. Or at the very least, the one thing that you don’t know how to do that without Chara. So, the question here is do you really want to follow the main path or strike off in your own direction?

 

_ Well, I could always call Sans and get him to lead me down the proper path. I wonder if he would actually be of any help though. _

 

“HEY PUNK!” Undyne’s sudden voice jolts you back into a breakneck speed once more. Any thoughts of calling Sans disappear as you try to escape the voice that signaled your end one too many times.

In between gasping breaths you shout back. “What?”

“INCOMING!” A familiar whizzing noise fills the air and something hits your back. Although it doesn’t hurt, which is a nice change of pace for things being thrown at you by Undyne, it does make you stumble. And then the sudden, confusing red glow makes you fall to one knee. When you regain your footing, you can see almost nothing. The normal blue glow of Waterfall is gone and you are in an almost pitch black. Turning round, you can see Undyne lit up by a green glow. There’s an almost manic grin on her face and your hand snakes up to clutch at your neck. The phantom pain of a death long since passed reawakens for a moment.

You scramble to remember all that you can about  **SOUL** battles. Honour system, turn based, choose an action - it starts with you. And something about stats. But you have no idea what that means, or what yours are. Chara would always keep track of them for you. This time, it looks like you’ll be flying blind.

Since you have no idea what you’re doing here, you figure that you’re just going to  **Act** . Not that you realize that you’re  **acting** instead of acting. “Thank you, for the warning.” You shout.

“It’s bad sportsmanship to do anything else!” Undyne calls back. Though you don’t quite understand the basis for each ‘turn’, you’re pretty sure it’s back to you.

What to do you? Chara had always listed out a few possible actions for you. This is going in blind, you’ve got no clue. Plus, the phantom pain of a hundred deaths caused by her is throbbing throughout your body. You’re pulse is magnified in  **unsaved** wounds and your hands are shaking.

Fight or flight kicks in. You don’t want to fight.

So you turn away from Undyne once more and  **Flee** into the darkness. Four steps out the colour and light start to return to your surroundings and the red glow of your soul fades. Though the feeling of it returning to your body is weird and unnatural to you, you don’t slow down in the slightest. 

“GET BACK HERE, PUNK!” Undyne shouts to your fleeing form. You can hear the thudding of her footsteps on the hard packed earth and stone of the cave. 

The dripping of water and the last hints of an ending song speed your feet as you thunder down the path to Hotland. You don’t manage to go very far before the familiar sound of an incoming projectile hits your ears and once again you feel the now familiar push of your soul being shoved out of your chest.

Your feet come to a skidding halt 

 

* * *

That's the end of the written parts, but here are the rest of the chapter notes in their gloriously unedited form.

 

\- the first time you get caught by Undyne, you're freaked. you've never faced off against Undyne before and you've never done it alone before.

\- after the first time it gets better, and by the end you're actually having a sort of fun.

\- OHHH BOY. IT"S THAT BOARDWALK SCENE, you fucking fall through. Undyne chases after you as you fall.

\- you wake up to an Undyne who's actually super worried she broke you because you didn't wake up for a while.

\- literally all this passing out must be hell for your psychological systems or whatever (google this dude)

\- undyne decides to appeal to your softer side (to win the bet, not because she's worried about you nope) and invites you back to her place for a small snack

\- Papyrus!! Stops by after his run!!! eventually any chances of you winning the bet go out the door. or is it just a challenge now

\- paps stays for a bit and then decides to head home, says he;ll tell sans ur doin fine

\- undyne admits that she likes because your decisive ( you're not, you've just died enough to know what not to do) and she tells you about the responsibility that she has to deal with as the captain of the guard. the ties to chara are not lost on you.

\- two hours is up, and as payment, undyne wants to know how you got sans on your side. Pap she can understand, but sans is confusing. he's always so withdrawn, even though he's gotten better in the past few years

\- you tell her that it's been mostly hard work, a lot of pressuring from paps, and laughing at more than a few puns you thought didn't deserve it, looking back.

\- she says that she doesn't quite believe you, he seems a little more attached then that. (you find out just what sans got up to while you were _wrecked_ by illness)- your a little uncomfortable by that, and she gets a real kick out of it. and then she kicks you out of her house

\- your a little uncomfortable by that, and she gets a real kick out of it. and then she kicks you out of her house- without chara's guidance, you have no idea what to do now. so you just keep walking towards hotland. Without anything better to do, you start babbling nonsense to Chara (who you really hope is listening) and by the time you get there, Chara feels comfortable enough to appear again, even if they don't do any talking.

\- without chara's guidance, you have no idea what to do now. so you just keep walking towards hotland. Without anything better to do, you start babbling nonsense to Chara (who you really hope is listening) and by the time you get there, Chara feels comfortable enough to appear again, even if they don't do any talking.- when you get to hotland, you see sans at his stand, passed out.

\- when you get to hotland, you see sans at his stand, passed out.

* * *

 

Here are the EXTREMELY vaugue future chapter notes that I had. I'll explain a little bit of what it was supposed to have meant after you read them all.

 

25-how do we convince a mettalic drama queen that we mean no harm?
    
    
    	the first meeting of metta & alphys

26-well, the first thing is to befreind his boyfriend
    
    
    	the second meeting, where papyrus demands to come along because he wants you to be the best of friends

27-scott conant and the red onion salad
    
    
    	you suck at cooking but this is payback for killing you

28-it isn't netflix and chill when there is no netflix and you are so chill you fall asleep
    
    
    	movie night w the boys

29-did i mention that you're stuck? you're super fucking stuck.
    
    
    	a reminder of how much you have fallen and how far you've flown

30-you made a promise to the stars and I'm here to make sure you keep it
    
    
    	a phonecall from tori and nightmares that don't belong to you
    

31-Please Don't let the starless sky scare you
    
    
    	Meeting Asgore, but not fighting him, you're just not ready

32-A bit of a breakdown and missing a buildup
    
    
    	does what you're going through count as ptsd? well, sans doesn't care either way

33-Never thought you'd get advice from a fish
    
    
    	You get relationship advice from Undyne

34-Never thought you'd TAKE advice from a fish
    
    
    	You lISTEN to the advice from undyne. if fixes things. I am distraught.

35-Look, now you're roleplaying with the fish? This is just too far.
    
    
    	You are endebted to Undyne and now are helping her practice something of her own

36-Lost.
    
    
    	You go over to get Alphys so Undyne can work her magic, and you get sucked into the basement. Sucker.

37-still lost.
    
    
    	Seriously how did you manage to get lost down here? At least you met all tthese nice monsters who are willing to help you back out

38-found
    
    
    	Alphys comes and gets you, and then Undyne noogies you for messing up her plan. 

39-I'd call this one homeward bound but I also wanna make some sort of snide comment.
    
    
    	Chara and you fight. You make up, chara cries (but you're not supposed to say that)

40-Dad is calling (figuratively); Mom is calling (literally)
    
    
    	You call Tori for advice before deciding it is time to face Asgore

41-Why all the talk about Apples falling from trees?
    
    
    	The fight begins. And ends. Simple

42-I made sure you'd be able to keep this promise, don't let me down
    
    
    	Flowey you pissbaby, Azzy you crybaby

43-I don't wanna let go.
    
    
    	Chara jumps

44-Azzy is a baby but I still have braces so who can say what
    
    
    	You return to the group. There are _emotions_

45-This is basically the parent trap and I want to die.
    
    
    	three dreamurr kids and two Sans. all five of you laugh at what this does to Papyrus (what a cool guy)

46-Are we not allowed to do fun things?
    
    
    	You return to your cat. The cat is alergic to Asreil. Noone is happy. (also, when did uncle get a new dog? He says he's had it forever, but you don't agree)

47-Science? Every teenager's worst nightmare.
    
    
    	Aplhys and the Sans figure out some way to get one of them home. (that new dog... he wont stop watching you)

48-Let's get him home, so we can all go to bed.
    
    
    	Your timeline is once again filled only by the people who should be in it. (this all has something to do with the dog, i know it, i know it)

49-Seeya
    
    
    	You take a well deserved nap.

50-My name is Chara and I refuse.
    
    
    	The dog has reset things. Will you try for a better ending?  
      
      
    

So this is what the ending was supposed to mean. At some point, probably right around chapter 36, Gaster would have slowly but surely made himself known. I really had a problem with fics and theories that made Gaster in his goopy and outside-of-time form out to be a villain. So in this fic, he was a sort of guardian of the timeline, trying to work with his resources to find a way to free the monsters without the need of a Frisk figure. Now that there is a Frisk Figure (Reader), one of Gaster's resources backfired and called the attention of the Annoying Dog. Who is some sort of all-powerful deity? Anyways, A.D. would see the absolute clusterfuck that is this timeline, be seriously upset with all the shit that is going down, and reset the whole thing. It was supposed to be a setup for a sequel fic where Sans has totally forgotten all of his timebending powers and all other timelines, one where Chara and Asriel are still alive and therefore can be properly saved instead of the bodysharing that  _this_ fic would have had in store for them. The end goal was a happy ending, where everyone is saved.

 

 

 

In case it isn't obvious, the person making the chapter titles was Chara the whole time. I thought I was pretty clever for coming up with that. Anyways, this is all that was left. Same as last time, if there are any questions, feel free to leave them in the comments or just come at me on tumblr. This was a fun fic before I got burned out, and I hope that people reading got a kick out of what is there. Thank you for listening and supporting my decision to let this one go. Best of luck to you on all your future endevours and goodbye for real this time!

Rox


	27. Hey!

Hey sorry to revive something that's dead and gone, but for those of you who have left this on a subscription list and are still interested in reading similar material, Alternates v2, the Directors Cut is now being posted weekly. For those of you who just don't remove old subs from your list, I hope your current reading material is living up to your standards and satisfying for your mind!


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